Woolworths survived two world wars, the great storm of 1987 and an onslaught of Eurovision song entries. Now saddled with debt of £385 million, this Christmas could be the last for the high street stalwart for stationery, sweets and tat.
Troubled retailer Floors-2-Go, which went into administration last month following the failure of a management buy-out backed by VC firm Alchemy Partners, has been bought by flooring and carpeting entrepreneurs the Hodges brothers.
Creo Retail Marketing, a recently-formed retail marketing agency, has acquired point-of-purchase (POP) print business the Lauren Group – a move reported to boost Creo’s annual turnover to £10 million.
Mid-market private equity house Graphite Capital has backed a management buy-out of shoe retailer Kurt Geiger from its current owner, Barclays Private Equity.
The Original Factory Shop, a Lancashire-headquartered retailer with 84 outlets across the UK, has been acquired by private equity firm Duke Street Capital for £68.5 million.
London-based fund Agilo, which specialises in ‘distressed assets and special situations’ has bought a loss-making bedding and home furnishings retailer.
Rippleglen, a Birmingham-based CTN operator, has acquired Northcliffe Retail, the news shops arm of Daily Mail and General Trust, with 61 outlets in the Midlands and the North, for £8.2 million.
Unfortunately, “tall poppy” syndrome is a fact of business life in the UK. The more successful or prominent a business or other enterprise becomes, the greater the amount of criticism it attracts. It isn’t the most endearing of our national traits, and I believe that it underlines much of Tesco’s savaging.
