Notonthehighstreet to pursue sale: Sky News

UK-based online retailer Notonthehighstreet Enterprises has hired investment bank Evercore to explore a possible sale which could be worth more than GBP 200.00 million, Sky News reported.

According to insiders close to the situation, a buyer could be chosen before Christmas and investors are looking to raise as much as GBP 250.00 million through a divestment.

Citing city sources, the broadcaster noted possible suitors may include trade bidders and private equity groups.

When contacted by Sky News, a spokeswoman for the retailer declined to comment.

Founded by Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish, Notonthehighstreet operates as an online marketplace for 3.00 million customers across the UK.

The group offers a range of products, including jewellery, confectionary and cards, and houses over 5,000 companies such as Soremi, Choc on Choc and Man Gun Bear.

For the financial year ended 31st March 2019, Notonthehighstreet posted revenue of GBP 35.23 million, down 2.0 per cent from GBP 35.95 million in the preceding 12 months.

Within the same timeframe, the company generated gross profit of GBP 33.36 million (FY 2018: GBP 34.09 million).

Following the appointment of Darren Shapland as chairman in 2015, the group was thought to be pursuing a flotation on the stock market.

However, Notonthehighstreet’s subsequent performance and its shareholders preference for a sale, have led to the auction with Evercore, Sky News noted.

Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk, shows there have been 262 deals targeting electronic shopping and mail-order houses operators announced worldwide in 2020 to date.

Adevinta agreed to buy eBay’s US-based classified business for USD 9.20 billion in the most valuable of these.

This was followed by Jeff Bazos selling a 0.2 per cent stake in Amazon for USD 1.86 billion.

Other companies targeted in this sector include the likes of Chinos Holdings, Zalando and HelloFresh.

© Zephus Ltd