SHAPE Australia grows its retail capacity with $32m deal for fitout specialist Arden Group

SHAPE Australia Corporation (ASX: SHA) has struck an agreement worth up to $32 million to acquire national retail fitout and facilities maintenance specialist Arden Group.

The deal comprises an initial upfront payment of $25 million and a potential $7 million earnout by the Arden Group founders Alan Maden and Richard Pitcher.

Arden has about 80 staff located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, serving metropolitan and regional locations with the acquisition expected to expand SHAPE’s reach into retail fitouts and maintenance.

SHAPE says the existing Arden management team will run the day-to-day operations of the Arden business following completion of the transaction, with Maden and Pitcher remaining as founding directors for a minimum of two years.

“The acquisition of the Arden business fits well with SHAPE’s growth and diversification strategy,” says SHAPE’s CEO Peter Marix-Evans.

“Arden’s expertise in retail multi-site fitout and facilities maintenance, areas that SHAPE has not traditionally focused on, will enable us to expand our market share across Australia.

“Arden is a great business. The management team and staff are experts in their field and share values that closely align with SHAPE’s.

“We are excited to work with Arden and achieve even greater success by leveraging the SHAPE brand.”

Arden’s customer base largely comprises two-year to three-year panel contracts with blue-chip companies, established program managers and government clients.

SHAPE says that Arden has strong customer retention, represented by an average tenure of 10 years across the company’s top 10 clients, including Officeworks, Ampol, Coles and BP.

The upfront payment of $25 million for Arden represents a multiple of four times FY26 EBITDA.

The acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive with SHAPE targeting a 10 to 14 per cent increase in earnings per share in the first full year of ownership.

The upfront payment of $25 million will be funded by a combination of cash and debt.

The Arden founders will receive cash payments of $3.5 million a year for two years if the business achieves targeted net profit performance levels in each of the two 12-month periods following completion of the acquisition.

SHAPE expects he acquisition to be completed by 31 December 2025.