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Carphone Warehouse founder reported to be in talks over Jigsaw deal

Lauretta Roberts
02 February 2018

David Ross, the co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, is reported to be in talks with Jigsaw founder John Robinson to invest in the business.

Jigsaw, which operates around 80 stores, has been seeking a new buyer or investor for a number of months and had appointed KPMG to oversee the process.

Sky News reports that Ross is in talks with Robinson, who is Jigsaw's controlling shareholder, about a deal that would secure the future of the fashion chain. City sources told the news outlet that no deal had yet been struck but it may be finalised by the end of next week.

The business is said to be seeking a cash injection of around £10m, so the structure of the deal is likely to be a personal investment of several million by Ross coupled with a new lender to provide debt, in place of existing lender Barclays.

South African group Foschini, which owns Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles, and investment firm Aurelius Partners are also understood to have expressed an interest in acquiring Jigsaw, which is said to have been hit by a "cash pinch" although it is trading well. A trading update last month revealed that sales in the five weeks to 31 December were up 7.2% year on year.

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