Permira prepares to appoint bankers to oversee sale or US IPO of British footwear brand Dr Martens
Private equity firm Permira is planning a sale or US flotation of iconic British footwear brand Dr Martens.
Permira, which bought Dr Martens for £300m in 2014, is preparing to hire bankers to review potential options for the company, Sky News reported.
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Bankers have not yet been appointed but Permira will reportedly hire advisors this summer, and the company is expected to be worth more than double what the private equity firm paid for it.
Dr Martens reported 20 per cent growth in group revenue in the year to the end of March 2018 and like-for-like retail revenue growth of seven per cent.
E-commerce sales were up 35 per cent to £43.6m and wholesale revenue increased by 16 per cent to £207.9m, the company said in its most recent set of financial figures.
Read more: New stomping grounds: Dr Martens grows with 25 new stores
Dr Martens chief executive Kenny Wilson, who joined the brand from high street retailer Cath Kidston in May last year, said the results were “outstanding”.
“We are an iconic brand that does things in our own unique, disruptive way and that is unifying our consumers across the globe," he said.