Optical Express eyes £24m laser clinic expansion

OPTICAL Express, the eye-care chain run by Scottish entrepreneur David Moulsdale, is planning a multi-million pound expansion of its laser eye surgeries.

The Cumbernauld-based company will open a chain of consultation clinics and create 100 jobs at a call centre in Glasgow.

The company, which has more than 230 opticians’ stores in the UK, said it was looking for low-cost sites away from high streets for the 24 centres. Operations director Hugh Kerr said: “This investment and recruitment drive underscores our commitment to deliver the most technologically advanced service in the UK.”

Moulsdale left school at the age of 16 to work for an optician and then founded Optical Express in 1991.

His group has since grown to include about 4,000 staff spread across Britain, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United States.

In 2005, Optical Express bought Boots’ dental division, the third-largest chain of clinics in the UK with 16 sites, including three in Scotland.

The following year the group took over the Bridgewater hospital in Manchester, a private clinic that is also home to the company’s cosmetic surgery business.

Bridgewater is used to treat football players from Manchester City and United and a host of celebrities.

The group grew its turnover to £204.7m in 2010, the most recent year for which accounts were available from Companies House, from £201.1m in the previous 12 months, with underlying profits rising to £22.2m from £20.8m.

Moulsdale is involved in a long-running dispute with HM Revenue & Customs over how VAT is charged on discounts. He set aside just under £24m in 2009 to pay the VAT bill if an appeals tribunal ruling in the case goes against him.

His group posted a pre-tax profit of £6.9m in 2010, swinging back from a loss of £24.6m in the previous year when the money was set aside.