Shop Direct owners call off sale process

The owners of home shopping giant Shop Direct, parent of brands such as Very, Very Exclusive and Littlewoods, have halted the potential sale of the business due to declining investor appetite.

David and Frederick Barclay had placed a £3bn price-tag on the business, which was understood to have deterred a number of interested parties, along with market uncertainty caused by the general election result last month.

Former New Look owner Apax Partners and fellow private equity house BC Partners, along with San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman were said to be the few bidders in the running to secure the business last month, while others including Cinven, Permira and CVC Capital Partners were believed to have been put off by the price.

However a statement issued by Merseyside-based Shop Direct today says the shareholders had called a halt to all sale talks as a result of "strong growth prospects".

"At the start of the year the shareholders of Shop Direct decided to review a number of options for the business including a possible partial or full sale. At no point did the shareholders commit to a transaction, and retaining the business was always an explicit option given its significant growth potential," it said.

"In recent weeks it has become clear that the appetite of potential bidders has begun to change due to uncertainty created in the post-election UK environment so the shareholders have decided not to pursue discussions further at this stage. Shop Direct continues to outperform the market delivering double-digit profit growth for the year ended 30 June 2017 and this strong trajectory is expected to continue," the statement added.