Mon, 09 Jul 2012 | BUSINESS SALE
French toy seller Groupe Ludendo is set to purchase its UK equivalent Hamleys for up to £60 million. A deal may go ahead by the end of July.
Controlled by Icelandic bank Landsbanki, Hamleys is being overseen by a committee including UK retailers, formed to dispose of a large portion of the bank’s assets to claw back funds for creditors.
The committee has already sold off frozen food retailer Iceland. It has not sought any further offers for Hamleys since Ludendo’s approach.
Ludendo runs its toy shops throughout France as well as Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and the Middle East.
Icelandic retail group Baugur bought Hamleys in 2003 for £58.7 million. When the firm failed, Landsbanki took over control of the iconic London-based toy store, but collapsed itself and was nationalised in 2008.
Hamleys’ flagship store on Regent Street in London opened its doors in 1881. Today it has eight stores in the UK and Ireland. It posted revenues of £43 million last year, and in 2010 reported its first pre-tax profits in six years.
Ludendo’s began life as one toy store in a northern Parisian suburb in 1977 by Maurice Grunberg. It owns the La Grande Récré and Starjouet brands amongst others. The firm bought Swiss toy seller Franz Carl Weber in 2006.
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