Billionaire on the way to de-listing embattled Bon Marché

Billionaire Philip Day is on track to de-list Wakefield-headquartered embattled retailer Bonmarché after its last largest investor sold its stake.

Fund manager Artemis sold its 12% stake in the retailer to Spectre, the Dubai-based holding company owned by Day, according to City AM.

The transaction brings Day’s stake up to 82.96%. He needs more than 75% needed to take the company private.

Spectre made a mandatory cash offer for the listed retailer of £3m in April, purchasing 52% of the company; which then triggers a mandatory full takeover bid. At first, Bonmarche was resisting a full takeover but last month changed its mind and recommend to shareholders that they accept a full offer for the company after a very poor Q1 trading period.

It is understood that Bonmarché shareholder Cavendish Asset Management also sold its 10.8% stake to Spectre at the end of last month, along with chief executive Helen Connolly and chief financial officer Stephen Alldridge.

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