The owners of The Very Group, one of Britain’s largest online shopping platforms, are to launch a £2bn auction of the company just months after taking control.
US private equity giant Carlyle is partnering with Barclays and JP Morgan to handle the sale of Very, which sells a wide range of fashion, toys and electrical goods, Sky News has learnt.
The auction is expected to begin soon and will come after a series of pre-sale plans drawn up under the ownership of the financially troubled Barclay family were put on hold.
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The proposal to launch an “immediate” sale process was disclosed in a filing by administrators at Companies House to VGL Holdco, a corporate entity that no longer has any connection with Very’s operations.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was appointed to oversee the bankruptcy of VGL Holdco in November, enabling Carlyle – a long-time lender – to take control of a token amount of £1.
Very, which has annual revenues of more than £2 billion and is chaired by former Conservative Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, is expected to report strong sales next week for the Christmas and Black Friday period.
The change of control last autumn ended more than 20 years of involvement by the Barclay family in the business, which was known as Littlewoods when it last changed hands in a £750 million deal in 2002.
Very Group’s capital structure,
Nasdaq-listed Carlyle had invested several hundred million pounds in Very Group’s capital structure, initially in 2021, to support it during the Covid pandemic.
This support, which included an additional £85 million from Carlyle in 2024, paved the way for it to take ownership control under the terms of the financing.
In documents filed at Companies House this week, PwC said the M&A process “will be conducted on the basis of the timescales expected for a business of the size of the operating group”.
One insider said Carlyle’s ownership was always intended to be transitional, timing the sale forward to maximise value for all stakeholders.
IMI, the Abu Dhabi-based media group which was also part of efforts to take control of The Daily Telegraph from Barclays, is also a lender to Very.
Formerly known as Shop Direct, the Very Group employs thousands of people and sells general merchandise under the Very and Littlewoods brands, including electrical goods, home goods, fashion and toys.
It has 4.4 million customers and operates a major consumer finance business, helping buyers manage their payments.
Last year, the company borrowed £600m from Arini, a Mayfair-based fund, as it sought to avoid a cash crunch and buy itself relief space.
Retail industry insiders believe the business is likely to be valued at around £2bn–£2.5bn, lower than the valuation the Barclay family placed at an auction several years ago.
People familiar with the situation declined to comment on the potential price of the sale, saying it would be determined by the level of interest from bidders.
Very’s most recent quarterly figures show flagship brand Very UK is growing 3.7% year-on-year, while revenues at the group’s Very Finance arm are up 5.7% to £113m.
Barclays, which owned London’s Ritz hotel, has already lost control of other corporate assets, including the Yodel delivery service, as well as Telegraph newspapers.
In recent weeks, the decline in their business affairs has accelerated after it was reported that HSBC, another of their long-term creditors, had filed a bankruptcy petition against senior members of the family.
The Telegraph also revealed that IMI had engaged advisers to sell Barclays’ assets, aiming to recover a portion of its outstanding debt.
A Very Group spokesperson declined to comment.
