Left to right: Ogilvie Rolland, Simon Brewer, Michael Rolland, Karl Jones

The Paint Shed has been acquired by Brewers, bringing together two of the largest UK independent paint retailers.

Brewers, already the UK’s largest independent decorator’s merchant with 193 stores across England and Wales, is a long established family business. It will add The Paint Shed’s 20 stores and 87 staff across Scotland.

The Paint Shed, founded by executive chairman Ogilvie Rolland in 1992, will continue to operate as a standalone subsidiary of The Brewers Group with the combined group seeing efficiencies in distribution, expanded product ranges and customer services.

In the near to medium term, The Paint Shed sees the opportunity for 5-10 more store openings across Scotland and has not ruled out further growth by acquisition. Mr Rolland said the tie-up will be “a fantastic fit”.

Michael Rolland, managing director, The Paint Shed, added: “We plan on continuing to win market share in the locations we serve and grow The Paint Shed brand wherever we think we can add value to the customer.”

Simon Brewer, CEO of Brewers said: “Ogilvie, Michael, and The Paint Shed team have built an incredible business, with great progress made over the last few years despite a challenging environment. The culture and values they have instilled in their business reflect those that matter most to us and that is why this coming together is most exciting.”

The deal provides a successful exit for growth capital investor BGF which has backed The Paint Shed since 2020. 

Graham Clarke, investor at BGF, said: “We have worked closely with The Paint Shed’s management to support positive growth through new stores and expansion since our 2020 investment, and we look forward to seeing the business go from strength to strength.

“I am confident that the acquisition by Brewers is a strong outcome for all parties, representing a good fit for the company going forward, whilst delivering BGF a strong internal rate of return (IRR) of 22%.”