SPECSAVERS has bought Swedish optical group Tva Bla for an undisclosed sum. Tva Bla [Two Blue] runs 13 franchises and 19 practices, with annual sales of £9.1m.

‘We didn’t plan to sell the company but when Specsavers contacted us, we could see only benefits with its proposal, both for our customers and for us,’ said Tibor Caro, chief executive officer of Tva Bla.

Specsavers is hoping the acquisition, together with the April purchase of 34 stores owned by the Blic optical group, will help it gain a firm grasp on the Swedish market.

‘The latest acquisition represents an excellent strategic fit for Specsavers. Like us and Blic, Tva Bla is run on a franchise or joint venture basis. The market position is similar: affordable prices, good quality, fashion,’ said Specsavers founder Doug Perkins.

‘This is an important step on the way to becoming market leader and it means more specs wearers will be able to benefit from our low prices and high-quality products.’

Specsavers is now one of the five largest optical retailers in the world with more than 600 stores in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and now Sweden.

In the UK and Ireland, Specsavers is the market leader with a 30% market share, more than double that of the nearest competitor.

In the Netherlands, where Specsavers Opticians was launched five years ago, it is now the third-largest and fastest-growing optical retailer.

Further acquisitions are being investigated.