Investment group Carlyle takes control of Very Group from Barclay family

The Very Group is under new ownership. The former Shop Direct, which owns Very and the legacy Littlewoods e-tail businesses, is now controlled by its major lender, global investment firm Carlyle. Another lender, Abu Dhabi-based media group IMI, is continuing as “a key stakeholder”.

The company said it’s “a positive outcome for The Very Group, providing it with a strengthened capital base and enhanced financial flexibility to support investment in its long-term growth plans”. 

It also “underscores Carlyle and IMI’s confidence in The Very Group, its management team, leading brand position, strategy and long-term growth potential, having supported the business since 2021”.

Carlyle and IMI will now “support the company’s management team to continue to deliver against its strategic priorities, including driving innovation and leveraging technology and data to improve its customer offering”.

It means the former owners, the Barclay family, will no longer have any involvement in the business after controlling it for over 20 years. It’s been in control during the period in which Very Group morphed from a traditional catalogue-based retailer to one of the UK’s biggest online business. 

Very Group, which is chaired by Nadhim Zahawi, the former Conservative Chancellor, has annual revenues of over £2 billion and it serves 4.4 million customers.

The Barclay family had tried to sell the business before and while no information was given about the value of the latest transaction, one report speculated on a valuation of around £2.5 billion, which is less than the Barclays had previously hoped for.

The family has lost control of a number of its businesses in recent periods after struggling to pay off major loans. Carlyle and IMI first became involved with Very earlier this decade as they lent major sums to the group.

But Very itself is believed to be in good financial shape. Last month it reported results for the year to June and while they included a pre-tax loss of £505.4 million, that was caused by a write-down of an inter-company loan made to the Barclay family’s holding company as lenders prepared to take over the business.

Other figures were more positive with an increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of 15.9% to £307.1 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin that rose to 14.7% from 12.5%. That was the highest earnings margin it has ever achieved. While revenue dipped slightly, its focus on more profitable sales was what boosted the margin.

On Monday, Very CEO Robbie Feather said the new ownership deal “marks an important milestone for The Very Group as we move into an exciting new phase of growth. We are delighted to continue to partner with Carlyle and IMI. Their continued backing provides us with a stronger foundation to execute on our strategy, increase investment in technology and the customer experience, and to build on the momentum across the business”.