Bidders are lining up for UK arts and crafts retailer as it goes up for auction after the decision of the Haskins family, who founded and own HobbyCraft, withdraw from the business. HobbyCraft is valued at around £70 million.
Among those expected to submit first-round bids are private equity groups Bridgepoint Development Capital, Graphite Capital and Lloyds Capital Development.
The strong interest in HobbyCraft partly reflects its position as the largest superstore chain in the arts and crafts market, which gained ground as consumers sought to go back to traditional craft activities during the recession.
In the year to February 22 2009, HobbyCraft generated pre-tax profit of £5.4m, up 67 per cent on the previous year, while sales increased 10.6 per cent to £68.7m. HobbyCraft wants to quadruple its store base from 48 to about 180 stores.