Primark owner poised to land Littlewoods

Bidding for 119 Littlewoods stores in the UK was today said to be down to a single party after fashion chain New Look reportedly pulled out of the running.

The withdrawal leaves Primark owner Associated British Foods in pole position to secure the chain of department stores with a bid of up to £550m (€810m).

The auction process dates back to the start of the year after Littlewoods - owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay – decided to explore its options in the wake of several informal approaches for the stores.

Since picking up Littlewoods in 2002, the Barclay brothers have focused on the group’s home shopping catalogue and internet business, including through a £590m (€869m) deal for a similar operation owned by GUS.

Littlewoods is also currently in the process of closing 126 Index stores with the loss of 3,200 jobs. It sold the remaining 44 sites in the Index estate to Argos, which is owned by FTSE 100 Index company GUS.

The Liverpool-based chain declined to comment on the speculation today, adding that it was business as usual at its Littlewoods department stores.

New Look, which is owned by private equity groups Apax Partners and Permira, was also silent on the withdrawal, which was reported in the Times today.

Primark is thought to be interested in the larger of the Littlewoods’ stores and is expected to sell off the sites that it does not want later.

Today’s report said Primark’s offer was likely to be finalised in the next few weeks.