Sale saves Habitat brand and flagship stores

The Habitat brand and the company's three leading London stores have been bought by the Home Retail Group, which already owns Argos and Homebase.

The deal was struck at the end of the day on Friday, with the rest of the company's loss-making stores put into administration. It is thought that the Home Retail Group secured the deal for the price of £24.5 million.

The three stores that have been bought - and will remain running, business as usual - are the branches on Tottenham Court Road, King's Road and Finchley Road.

Fraser Gray, from administrators Zolfo Cooper, has been appointed to carry out fundamental restructuring of the company's remaining 30 stores across the UK. He has said that the stores will remain trading while talks are carried out with potential buyers.

Habitat's executive chairman, Phil Wrigley, said, "The sale of the brand and three flagship stores to Home Retail Group secures the future of Habitat and will enable the business to move forward in the UK with the benefit of the group's multichannel strength."

The administration was said to have been unavoidable after the company posted losses of around £88 million over the last three years. The location and expense of the outlets meant that it was unlikely that the company would return to profit in the near future.

Share this article

Latest Businesses for Sale

View more businesses for sale