New Look worth 2 billion

Tom Singh, the founder of New Look, could pocket £200m from the retailer's imminent sale. Singh, who holds a 22 per cent stake in the chain that he founded in 1969, is in the process of deciding whether to sell some or all of his stake in New Look, which has an estimated price tag of £2bn.

Singh's massive potential windfall will raise questions over his decision to back the sale of the chain for £700m just two years ago. New Look has around £1.1bn of debt, meaning that the group will have £900m of equity to be split between Singh, New Look's management, Apax and Permira, the company's private equity majority owners, and Landmark, the Dubai-based retailer that has a 3 per cent stake. "We think all the current shareholders will sell," said a private equity executive last night.

An executive close to Singh stressed that he had not yet made up his mind about whether or not to sell his stake. The executive added that Singh believed there was plenty of growth still to come at New Look after the sale.