Private equity firms prepare final bids for Shop Direct

Liverpool-headquartered Shop Direct is set to receive binding offers from three private equity funds. Apax Partners, BC Partners and Hellman & Friedman are said to be preparing their final offers for the online retailer, which is currently valued at 3 billion pounds according to reports from Reuters.

The three companies are understood to have made it through to the final stages of Shop Direct's auction process, launched earlier this year by Swiss investment bank UBS. The three buyout funds have until July 19 to round off their offers for Shop Direct, although it is thought unlikely that they will match the retailer's 3 billion pound price tag.

The online retailer's consumer credit offer, which is set to face tighter regulations as well as the slowdown in consumer spend predicted to come after Britain exits the European Union, has raised a number of concerns with potential bidders. Final offers are expected to fall short of Shop Direct's billionaire owners, Frederick and David Barclay's expectations.

Shop Direct's sale process, which began early this year, is said to have drawn a lot of interest from a number of private equity investors. However, many are said to have lost interest upon hearing Barclay's brothers asking price and concerns over the retailer's over reliance on consumer credit revenues, according to sources at Reuters. Shop Direct offers consumer to option to purchase items and pay for them in numerous installments over a period of time.

One minute recap of Shop Direct's sale process

Click on the arrows to see FashionUnited's one minute recap of Shop Direct's sale process