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Studio Retail Group (SRG) has announced it is exploring sales options after seeing half-year profits increase 52% to £17.7m.
For the 26-week period ending 25 September, Studio revealed that profits were boosted by a 17% increase in revenues to £268m up from £228.7m in 2019.
It also revealed its active customer base was up 15% in H1 to 2.1m at the end of September, including 1.4m with an active credit account Subsequent growth during Q3 to date has increased the total and credit customer bases to 2.3m and 1.5m respectively.
The group also noted that on 13 October 2020 SRG received a letter from Frasers Group, who own approximately 37% of the issued share capital of SRG, stating that they believe the group is “misunderstood by the market and as a consequence, significantly undervalued” and “although this may be fixable over the long-term, the group should conduct a strategic review”.
It said both in light of the letter, the upcoming CEO succession and the subsequent decision not to proceed to completion of the proposed sale of Findel Education to YPO following the CMA’s provisional findings, its board has now determined that it is an “appropriate point” to undertake a “comprehensive review of the strategic options open to it in order to maximise value for shareholders”.
These options include a sale of the group which will be conducted under the framework of a “formal sale process”, it said.
It added that the board has appointed Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited to conduct the review as its sole financial adviser.
