PE owner looks for Original Factory Shop exit

THE private equity owner of Lancashire discount retailer The Original Factory Shop is seeking an exit from the fast-growing business.

TheBusinessDesk.com understands that Duke Street Capital has hired investment bank Rothschilds – which led this year’s £955m sale of Pets at Home to KKR – to run the sale process.

A price tag of between £160m and £200m has been mooted for the Burnley-based company, which like many others in the value retail sector, has enjoyed rapid sales growth as hard-pressed shoppers seek low prices.

The company was founded 40 years ago in Yorkshire.

TOFS, as it is knowm, was founded in Yorkshire and is now led by former Debenhams managing director Angela Spindler.

It currently has around 135 stores located in smaller regional towns which are poorly served by traditional retailers.

Earlier this month, The Original Factory Shop reported sales of £132m for the year to March 28, an increase of 35% on the same period a year earlier and up 7% on a like-for-like basis.

It reported a 31% rise in earnings before taxation, interest, depreciation and amortisation in the last financial year to £14.7m.

Sources close to the situation said the process is at a “very early stage” and the business is not even being marketed yet.