Published
Nov 5, 2020
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Frasers no longer in race to buy Debenhams

Published
Nov 5, 2020

Frasers Group is reportedly out of the running to buy Debenhams after its offer failed to match the £300 million that advisors to the company were looking for.


Photo: Sandra Halliday



That's according to The Times, which said that the choices for the more-than 200-year-old business now remain as either liquidating it, breaking it up and selling it bit by bit to various buyers, or the group of hedge funds that own its debts buying it back.

The newspaper also said that Chris Wootton, who's CFO of Frasers, has written to Darren Jones, chairman of the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee, “saying that the asking price was impossible for all but insiders to reach”. He said this meant Debenhams would be bought by its present owners or by restructuring specialist Hilco with the latter option likely to see Hilco looking “to turn the remnants of Debenhams into cash before leaving a bare carcass stripped to the bone”.

He also repeated a request for more government scrutiny of Debenhams’ 2019 administration filing that wiped out the almost-30% stake Frasers had in the company.

At the moment, Debenhams is the largest department store chain in the UK and despite having closed a number of stores, it retains 124 shops and has 12,000 employees. It has had a difficult history this century and was put into administration this April for the second time in two years.

It's unclear at present which of the three scenarios might play out around the retailer, but if it's repurchased by the hedge funds, that would add greater weight to arguments from those who’ve said that the current pre-pack administration system isn't fit for purpose. The government is currently reviewing such administrations, but no announcements around them have been made as yet.

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