Strong interest in Allders stores
Administrator Kroll talking to new bidders
Department store group Allders, which was placed into administration this week, could be sold within weeks after more potential bidders emerged.
Alastair Beveridge, a partner at administrators Kroll, said: “There are around 10 expressions of interest. Some of these are original bidders from the past few months who are still interested. Others are new ones coming out of the woodwork.”
Rival department store operators Debenhams and House of Fraser, and discount retailer Primark, are all known to be interested in at least some of the stores, with private equity players including Alchemy Partners also said to be interested. Current chief executive Terry Green.and former boss a Harvey Lipsith also remain potential bidders.
Beveridge said: “We will put an Allders ‘for sale’ ad in the Financial Times on Friday – for anyone on a different planet – asking for expressions of interest. A shortlist of three or four bidders would be good.”
The sale process is expected to take a matter of weeks rather than months, with the stores continuing to trade in the meantime.
However. the administrator has stressed that even if the business is sold as a going concern, any buyer is very unlikely to assume Allders’ pension fund liabilities as part of the deal.
