The Very Group Sale
The owner of The Very Group, one of the UK’s largest online shopping platforms, will launch a £2bn auction of the company just months after taking control. Carlyle, the American private equity giant, is appointing Barclays and JP Morgan to handle the sale of Very, which sells a wide range of fashion, toys and electronics.
Background
An auction is expected to begin shortly after a number of previous sales plans drawn up under the cash-strapped Barclay family were put on hold. The proposal to begin an “immediate” sale process was disclosed in a filing to Companies House by administrators to VGL Holdco, a corporate entity now unconnected to Very’s operations. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was appointed to oversee the insolvency of VGL Holdco in November, allowing Carlyle – a long-standing creditor – to take control of the symbolic sum of £1.
Company Performance
Very, which has annual sales of more than £2bn, is expected to report strong sales for the Christmas and Black Friday period next week. The company has 4.4 million customers and operates a large consumer finance business that helps customers manage their payments. Very’s latest quarterly figures showed its flagship brand Very UK grew 3.7% year-on-year, while sales at the group’s Very Finance division rose 5.7% to £113m.
Ownership and Financing
The change of control last autumn ended the Barclay family’s more than 20-year involvement in the company, which was known as Littlewoods in 2002 when it last changed hands in a £750 million deal. Nasdaq-listed Carlyle had invested hundreds of millions of pounds into Very Group’s capital structure, initially to support it during the Covid pandemic in 2021. This support, which included a further £85m from Carlyle in 2024, paved the way for it to take ownership control under the financing terms.
Sale Expectations
Retail industry insiders believe the company will be worth in the region of £2bn to £2.5bn – less than what the Barclay family expected it to be worth at auction a few years ago. People familiar with the situation declined to comment on the likely value of a sale, saying it would be determined by the level of interest from bidders. In documents filed with Companies House this week, PwC said an M&A process would be "carried out on a basis and within a timeframe consistent with what would be expected for a company of the size of the operating group".
