French Connection founder exploring buyers to sell his controlling stake

French Connection founder Stephen Marks is said to be exploring sale option for his controlling 42 percent stake in the company, reports Sky News. After running the label for 49 years, Marks is looking for buyers with investment bank Numis Securities reportedly advising him on the matter. Other than Marks, other two investors in the label include Mike Ashley, who owns 27 percent and William Adderley, the founder of FTSE 250-listed home furnishings company Dunelm Group, who owns a smaller stake.

According to The Telegraph, in March, French Connection said that it had received an unsolicited takeover offer an unnamed US-based investor in 2017. However, it added that after “full due diligence and negotiation over a number of months” the talks “ultimately did not lead to an offer for the group”.

In its results statement for the six months to July 31, 2018, French Connection Group PLC said that total H1 2018 revenue of 58.1 million pounds was 2.4 percent lower than the previous year, on a reduced store portfolio. The company's pre-tax loss widened to 15.1 million pounds against losses of 5.9 million pounds a year earlier. However, underlying profitability, reached a loss of 5.5 million pounds, an improvement of 0.4 million pounds or 6.8 percent on the year.

Earlier this year, the company sold its 75 percent stake in Toast, ‎a lifestyle brand focused on womenswear, accessories and homewares, to Danish fashion house Bestseller.

Picture:Facebook/French Connection