The owners of a Bristol opticians practice are retiring from the business more than 40 years after it was originally opened.
Ruth Davies and Nina Newsom, the founders of Newsom and Davies Opticians in Henleaze, will hang up their ophthalmoscopes at the end of this year, having agreed a takeover deal with national group Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists.
Ms Newsom and John Barrand first opened the opticians in 1977, with Ms Davies joining in 1986, establishing a partnership that rebranded to its current name in the 1990s.
Dispensing optician Sharon Williams has become practice manager, having originally joined 25 years ago as a receptionist. A new optometrist, Sibgha Waqar, has also joined the team on Henleaze Road, and will be focusing on delivering Bayfields’ eye appointments.
Ms Davies and Ms Newsom’s retirement was marked with a gift of flowers at the practice’s hospitality event for the Henleaze Christmas festival, which saw members of the community gather to enjoy drinks and mince pies and mark the start of the festive season. The pair said the time had come to retire, “after many happy years”.
“We are sad to say goodbye to those we have got to know and looked after. We have been very touched by the kind words, cards and even gifts. We really appreciate all the good wishes for our future as we look forward to having more time for our other interests, families, volunteering and maybe something new.”
Ms Davies and Ms Newsom added that the business had invested in “state-of-the-art equipment”, and they believed under Bayfields customers would continue to benefit from “outstanding levels of care”.
Bayfield’s takeover marks the group’s first venture in the South West, with the practice the fourteenth to join it this year, taking the total number across its national portfolio to 45.
Bayfields founder and chief executive Royston Bayfield said Ms Davies and Ms Newsom had worked “extremely hard” to build the brand of their business, and its new owners would look to create a “true feeling of continuity”.
Mr Bayfield said: “The South West is an area we’ve always wanted to expand our services in, to satisfy people’s needs for the highest quality of optometry and audiology services.
“Bringing Newsom and Davies into the Bayfields’ family is the very first step on what we envisage will be an exciting journey in the region as we continue to grow the business, and we can’t wait to get to know more about the local community.”
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