Private equity house Primary Capital has taken a 50 per cent stake in toy seller Tobar Group, through a £42 million deal. The group, which already has an established presence in the online, mail order and high street retail markets, intends to use the cash to dramatically increase the scale of its operations.

Private equity house Primary Capital has taken a 50 per cent stake in toy seller Tobar Group, through a £42 million deal. The group, which already has an established presence in the online, mail order and high street retail markets, intends to use the cash to dramatically increase the scale of its operations.

Much of the expansion will centre on Tobar’s high street operations. At present the group runs 22 Hawkin’s Bazaars, selling a range of gifts and gadgets for kids. By the end of this year, however, the plan is to increase this figure to 37. A further 100 stores are then planned over the next five years.

‘Primary’s investment will help us transform Tobar from a wholesale and mail-order led business into a multi-site, multi-channel retailer with a significant high street presence,’ the group’s managing director Toby Templer says. ‘As a company, we are determined not to lose our character and sense of fun. We chose to work with Primary because they understand what makes us unique, and are keen to retain this as the business continues to develop.’

Corporate finance house Livingstone Guarantee helped arrange the deal.