Flotation talks move on for DFS

A STOCK market flotation for Yorkshire furniture manufacturer and retailer DFS is looking likely, as further reports suggest it is preparing for a £1bn listing later this year.

Advent International, the private equity firm which owns Doncaster-headquartered DFS, has appointed UBS to explore options for its investment, the most likely of which involve a return to the London stock market, Sky News said. It said a source close to DFS confirmed that it had begun examining the move amid a deluge of prospective company listings.

In December, DFS said it had “excellent” prospects for long-term profitable growth. For the 13 weeks ended October 26, the company saw sales of £142.5m (2012: £144.0m) while EBITDA came in at £7.2m (2012: £10.2m).

DFS was sold for around £500m to Advent in 2010 by its founder Lord Kirkham. It employs around 3,000 people.