Barclay family’s Very Group snapped up by US private equity giant
Online retailer The Very Group has been snapped up by a US private equity giant, ending an over 20 year tenure of ownership under the Barclay family.
The group will now be controlled by Washington-based Carlyle alongside Abu Dhabi-based investment fund International Media Investments (IMI).
It marks the latest offshoring of businesses for the Barclay family, after they gave up control of the Ritz Hotel in London, delivery firm Yodel and the Telegraph newspaper.
The Very Group was created through a merger of Littlewoods catalogue business and Shop Direct in 2004 by identical twins Sir Frederick Barclay and Sir David Barclay.
Sir David died in January 2021 aged 86.
The Barclay family has faced a series of headaches across operations over the last few years, which included losing control of the Telegraph after struggling to repay loans.
Substantial overdue debts, running to over £1bn, triggered action by Lloyds Banking Group, resulting in the seizure of the family’s long-held media assets.
Barclay family in turmoil
The Very Group pocketed over £307m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the latest financial year. This was up nearly 16 per cent year-on-year and triggered a record earnings margin of 14.7 per cent.
But it came as group revenue dipped 1.8 per cent over the course of the year to £2bn. Total active UK customers fell 1.5 per cent to 3.6m.
Home category sales has been a top performer for the group with growth of 9.9 per cent whilst fashion and sport sales declined 3.7 per cent, with the group citing a heavily discounted and challenging market.
Robbie Feather, of The Very Group, said: “This marks an important milestone for The Very Group as we move into an exciting new phase of growth.”
Feather also paid tribute to the Barclay family’s “stewardship and contribution to the company over the past two decades”.