H&T Group, a British pawnbroker and a retailer of new and pre-owned jewellery and watches, has acquired Swiss Time Services, a watch servicing and repair centre, for £4.3 million.

Based in Essex, Swiss Time Services has a workforce of more than 30 people. The watch servicing and repair centre is said to have a UK-wide customer base and is an officially accredited service centre for a variety of prestige watch brands.

H&T Group said that a large number of watches sold by it are serviced and/or repaired prior to their sale.

During the current year, H&T Group anticipates sending up to 4,000 watches for either service or repair.

H&T Group said that the acquisition of Swiss Time Services will bring expertise in watch repair and servicing in-house, thereby allowing the group to improve its service offering to customers while boosting margins.

Once the integration of Swiss Time Services is done and an intended launch of a watch “care and repair” service in the future to customers, an increase in revenue as well as sales margins are expected to go up, said H&T Group.

Chris Gillespie — H&T Group CEO said: “I am very excited about the opportunities created by this acquisition as it represents an important strategic step for H&T. It enables us to bring watch expertise in-house and consequently, improve margins and broaden the range of services we can offer to our customers.

“I look forward to working with Tony Coe and the outstanding team at Swiss Time Services. We intend to continue the excellent and highly respected service provided to the large number of existing clients of the business whilst increasing the volume of work currently placed with Swiss Time Services by H&T.”

  Chris Gillespie, Essex, H&T Group, Retail acquisition news, Swiss Time Services, Tony Coe, United Kingdom