The proprietor of Hobbycraft has made a late swoop to purchase The Unique Manufacturing unit Store (TOFS) after talks with a rival suitor stalled on the eleventh hour.
One govt elsewhere within the retail trade mentioned they understood {that a} deal could possibly be struck inside days.
If accomplished, it will convey the curtain down on greater than 17 years of possession by Duke Avenue, the non-public fairness agency.
TOFS is an impartial low cost retail chain buying and selling from greater than 180 shops throughout the UK.
Rival bidders for the enterprise are mentioned to have included Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and Poundstretcher, which is owned by the funding group Fortress.
Established in 1969, TOFS sells magnificence manufacturers corresponding to L’Oreal, the sportswear model Adidas and DIY instruments made by Black & Decker.
The chain was purchased by Duke Avenue in 2007, with it having supported the corporate by means of the COVID-19 pandemic with an injection of greater than £10m.
TOFS is now understood to don’t have any remaining financial institution debt.
Duke Avenue declined to remark, whereas Modella Capital has been contacted for remark.
