Hobbycraft owner makes last-minute bid for The Original Factory Shop

Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital has made a last-minute bid to buy The Original Factory Shop after talks with another suitor stalled.

The private equity firm, which also has its eye on WHSmith’s high street stores, is close to eclipsing In The Style owner Baaj Capital, Sky News reported.

It is understood that a deal for the discount chain, which has 180 stores around the UK, could be made within days.

The sale will mark the end of more than 17 years ownership by private equity firm Duke Street.

It is thought that Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and Fortress, which owns Poundstretcher and Majestic, had also expressed an interest in the acquiring The Original Factory Shop.

Duke Street has been exploring a sale of the discount chain for several years. It brought in advisors at Teneo in December to handle the process, having previously worked with Deloitte in 2023 to manage a sale.

Talks with prospective advisers about a sale first began in 2013, when the retail chain was said to be valued at more than £100m.

It later appointed investment bank Rothschild in 2016 to conduct a strategic review which was expected to lead to an auction.

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