The prolific investor of High Street Hilco Capital approaches an agreement to finance a takeover of Lakeland, the family retailer in household items.
Sky News learned that Hilco, who supported the retailers, including HMV and Superdry, and the management of Lakeland is in advanced talks with its shareholders on an agreement to take control of the 61 -year -old business.
An agreement could be officially agreed in the coming days, according to the initiates.
If confirmed, a sale of Lakeland would follow months of talks with a certain number of potential buyers, including Modella Capital, the company which recently agreed to buy the High Smith Street chain.
Lakeland is controlled by the three sons of the founder Alan Rayner and looked for tens of millions of new funding pounds because he faces the opposite winds, including the national insurance increase that has entered into force this month.
Created in 1964 under the name of Lakeland Plastics, the company employs approximately 1,000 people in a chain of nearly 60 stores, at its head office in Windermere and its distribution centers.
Sky News revealed in January that the company had hired Teneo as a financial advisers to help him explore the options.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm, advised HSBC, the main lender of Lakeland, who should end his involvement with the company.
The increase in national employers’ insurance has caused protests against retailers and hotel businesses, industry organizations warning that changes represented a tilting point for many employers.
A spokesperson for Lakeland said in January that he “envisaged a number of options to guarantee a long-term and long-term capital structure, which relies on our sixty-year inheritance as one of the most innovative shutters in the United Kingdom”.
Lakeland was founded when Mr. Rayner began to sell plastic bags to freeze at home from his family garage in the Lake District.
It now sells more than 4,000 home and kitchen products.
The accounts deposited at Companies House for 2023 warned that he entered that year “confronted with the most difficult economic conditions for several decades with high inflation leading to the request of many traditional categories”.
Sales during the year were largely stable at 153 million pounds sterling, with Lakeland listeners warning of “material uncertainty … (roughly) the ability of the company to continue as concern”.
The accounts added that he had finished the renewal of his banking facilities with HSBC after the end of the financial year, including a renewable credit facility of 7.5 million pounds sterling expiring in May 2028 and a commercial funding of 10 million pounds sterling.
A spokesperson for Hilco refused to comment on Friday, while Lakeland was contacted to comment.