Staples Inc. and Hilco Capital have reached an agreement for Staples to sell its UK retail business and operations to Hilco for nominal proceeds. In May this year, Staples had announced that it planned to explore strategic alternatives for its European operations.
“Agreeing to sell our UK retail business to Hilco aligns with our go-forward strategy of focusing on our North American and mid-market business and is a meaningful step in that process,” said Shire Goodman, CEO and president, Staples. “In addition, we continue to make good progress in evaluating strategic alternatives for the remainder of Staples Europe, which will let us streamline our operations, sharpen our focus and more aggressively pursue our mid-market growth strategy.”
The use of the Staples brand will be phased out by the UK business over the coming months. The business employs 1300 UK staff and currently has 107 stores here. In its most recently filed accounts (to the end of January 2015) it had posted a pre-tax loss of £5 million.
Paul McGowan of Hilco Capital said “We are pleased to have concluded a transaction with Staples Inc.. and look forward to working with the UK team. While retail in the UK has been challenged recently, a team led by retail veteran Alan Gaynor will work alongside the existing management team to build a plan for success for the business.”
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