Snappy Snaps, the high street photo processing and photo gift franchise, has been bought by Timpson, the shoe repairer, key cutter and watch repair retailer.
The 121-shop chain will continue to be run as a franchise. It was founded in 1983 by Tim MacAndrews and Don Kennedy, two young partners who were among the earliest franchisees of Kall-Kwik, the design and print retailer.
They learnt franchising from their franchisor, Moshe Gerstenhaber, who was one of the most enthusiastic and passionate founders of UK franchising, and they have for 30 years surprisingly remained one of the few franchisees who have had the ambition to develop as successful franchisors.
Timpson also owns 200 Max Spielmann photo shops, mostly based in the North. Snappy Snaps stores are in central London and the South-East.
James Timpson (pictured), chief executive of Timpson, commented: “We will continue with the Snappy Snaps brand and its successful franchise format. Since buying Max Spielmann four years ago we have transformed it from a traditional photo processor into a very successful photo retailer, specialising in passport photos, portraits and photo gifts.
“Snappy Snaps has always kept ahead of trends in the digital photo market and its geographical distribution is a perfect fit with Max Spielmann.”