Toggle Menu
  1. Home/
  2. Business/
  3. Companies/

The luxury shoe and bag retailer Jimmy Choo is on sale

The luxury shoemaker, with a market value of more than £700m, has decided to put itself up for sale in a move that took the market by surprise.

Founded in London in 1996 by the Malaysian fashion designer Jimmy Choo and the then Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon, the company runs 150 stores around the world, opening 10 last year as well as refitting 16 shops.

The retailer said it had “decided to conduct a review of the various strategic options open to the company to maximise value for its shareholders” and that it was seeking offers for the business, The Guardian reports.

loading...

The move was backed by the company’s independent directors and JAB Luxury, its majority shareholder with a stake of 68%.

Following the news, the shares in Jimmy Choo jumped 10% to a record high of 186.25p on the news, valuing the group at more than £720m. The company floated on the stock market in 2014 at a price of 140p a share, valuing it at about £550m.

Any sale will probably attract interest from strategic American buyers as well as Middle Eastern, Chinese and Russian bidders.

Jimmy Choo recently reported operating profits of £42.5m for 2016, up nearly 43%, after success with luxury trainers. Its fastest-growing category, which account for 9% of revenue, remain men’s shoes.

Claire Reynolds

Loading...