Camp Hopson of Newbury has been sold

The Newbury department and furniture store has been sold to independent chain Morleys Stores Limited which owns seven stores in the capital and a furniture retailer in Bicester. Morleys will keep the name of Camp Hopson and retain existing staff but have not purchased the separate funeral and removals business.
The chairman of Morleys, Bernard Dreesmann said that £3m will now be invested in Camp Hopson as a result of the acquisition which he said represented “an excellent strategic fit to the existing business and both my team and I welcome the Camp Hopson staff into the Morleys Group”.
Morleys managing director David Hordle who joined the group from Boots in August said: “Bernard assured me when I joined that we would actively look to acquire new businesses, but I didn’t realise it would be so soon. Naturally the whole business is very excited about this acquisition/opportunity. The long-established expertise of both businesses will help to drive the store’s success going forward.”
Morleys Group was established in 1927 and in the year ending January 2014 their sales were £90.6m with a pre-tax profit of £7.1m. In the first 9 months trading of this year like for like sales were up 6 per cent according to the company and the acquisition will move Group sales beyond the £100m mark.
Morleys of Brixton hit the headlines in the summer of 2011 during the London Riots when a gang of around 40 youths began smashing windows and looting shops, including the London department store.
Camp Hopson chief executive, Jonathan Hopson said of the sale: “Camp Hopson always sought to provide the best possible service to the people of Newbury. The department store and furniture store will benefit hugely from being part of a bigger independent department store group given the skills, expertise and buying power they bring.
“We’re delighted that Morleys Group will keep the Camp Hopson name, retain our existing staff and make a substantial new investment in the business. We couldn’t have found a better buyer to take these businesses on the next stage of their 90 year journey.”
The furniture retailer traces its roots to 1854 when Joseph Hopson set up a furniture business on West Street in the town and Alfred Camp later started a Drapery Bazaar on Northbrook Street in 1886.
In 1920, Joseph’s grandson Paul Hopson married Alfred Camp’s daughter Norah and the following year the two businesses merged to create what is now Camp Hopson of Newbury.
For more on this story pick up a copy of this week’s Newbury Weekly News.