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Sports Direct has dropped out of the bidding war for Patisserie Valerie , just days after tabling an offer reported to be worth more than £15m.
The group was said to be unhappy about its treatment during the bidding process, according to the Financial Times, which reported that Mike Ashley ’s firm had “not been allowed access to a data room, any financial information or meetings with management”, leaving the company “at a serious disadvantage as a bidder”.
The administrators told Sports Direct it would need to increase its bid by as much as £2m, which the company said it was “not able to match” without having access to “any due diligence, financial information or management meetings”.
Patisserie Valerie collapsed into administration in January, putting almost 3,000 jobs at risk.
KPMG was appointed to attempt to find a buyer for the cafe chain, however, several branches have already been closed , resulting in 920 redundancies.
Show all 9 1 /9Death of the British high street? The retailers affected Death of the British high street? The retailers affected Toys 'R' Us Customers shop at a Toys 'R' Us store. The retail chain announced plans to shut all of its US stores, becoming one of the biggest casualties of the retail shakeout amid the rise of e-commerce. The debt-plagued company announced that it has filed a motion for bankruptcy court approval to liquidate its US operations, a move that could hit 33,000 jobs. The UK retailer failed to find a buyer and said their 105 Toys R Us stores would remain open until further notice, with administrators appointed to begin "an orderly wind-down".
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Death of the British high street? The retailers affected New Look New Look announced it will shut 60 stores and cut 980 jobs as part of a restructuring plan agreed with its creditors.
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Death of the British high street? The retailers affected Maplin A Maplin store displays closing down notices after the company went into administration.
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Death of the British high street? The retailers affected Claire's Accessories (US only) People walk past a Claire's store in downtown Chicago. The chain that has pierced the ears of millions of teens has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The accessories chain said that its stores will remain open as it restructures its debt.
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Death of the British high street? The retailers affected Carpetright Carpetright announced that it has secured £12.5m of emergency funding from one of its largest shareholders and that it is exploring the opportunity of seeking approval for a restructuring plan under which it would slash rents and shut stores to avoid going into administration.
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Death of the British high street? The retailers affected MOSS BROS. Suits specialist Moss Bros has reported a drop in earnings and profit in 2017, blaming a “tough end to the year” and stock shortages which hurt sales. Chief executive Brian Brick said: “Going forward, we are planning for an extremely challenging retail environment, not least because of the uncertain consumer environment and significant cost headwinds.”
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Death of the British high street? The retailers affected Mothercare Mothercare warned over profits after UK sales plunged in the run-up to Christmas 2017, with consumer spending falling in both stores and online.
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Death of the British high street? The retailers affected House of Fraser The Chinese owner of House of Fraser plans to sell its majority stake in the troubled department-store chain, adding to the upheaval on the UK’s shopping streets.
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Death of the British high street? The retailers affected Conviviality - Bargain Booze Bargain Booze owner Conviviality could be heading for administration after failing to secure emergency funding, placing 2,500 jobs at risk.
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Sports Direct has recently snapped up a number of failing brands, buying House of Fraser moments after it fell into administration last August , and subsequently purchasing Evans Cycles as part of a pre-pack administration .
The group was also in the running to buy HMV , which was instead sold to Canadian chain Sunrise Records .
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