Mister Minit a good fit for CVC

UBS Capital is to sell Mister Minit, the Belgian shoe repair and key cutting chain, to CVC for an undisclosed sum.

The company was put up for sale in November last year, and reports at the time valued it at between E150m and E200m. Mister Minit was acquired in 1997 and UBS embarked on a buy-and-build strategy to improve its UK market coverage. In 2001 the company had to be restructured following poor performance, and the management team was replaced and a number of stores were shut down.

It has since returned to profit, and in the financial year ending March 2004 it generated sales and franchise fees of E271.7m, with an EBITDA of E27.2m.