Very Group put up for sale after Barclay family lose control

 The US private equity firm that seized control of Very Group from the Barclay family has kicked off a £2bn sale of the heavily indebted retailer.

Carlyle Group launched a formal auction this month after taking control of the retailer – which also owns the Littlewood brand – in November. Bankers at Barclays and JP Morgan have been hired to oversee a sale.

N Brown, which was previously linked to a merger with Very, has been mooted as a possible suitor. Investment firm Elliot Advisors, which owns Waterstones and Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, have reportedly also expressed interest in a possible deal.

Administrators at PwC said the advisers had already approached several potential bidders, but warned the process would take a number of months to conclude.

PwC was appointed in November in a move that allowed Carlyle to take control of Very for a nominal sum of £1.

It came as the Barclay family’s business empire imploded after a dispute with Lloyds Banking Group regarding unpaid debts. Carlyle had previously been Very’s main creditor.

International Media Investments (IMI), the Abu Dhabi media vehicle that backed a failed bid to buy The Telegraph from the Barclay family, also became a major lender to Very in the complex deal.

Both Carlyle and IMI have helped to keep the retail group afloat as they seek to recoup their money through a sale of the business.

Carlyle pumped £150m into Very earlier this year to help ease the strain on the debt-laden business. Very is also understood to have secured more breathing room from other external lenders as part of a wider support package.

Other measures secured earlier this year included extending a £150m credit facility until February 2030, and prolonging a £1.8bn credit facility from a consortium of banks until February 2029.

The Barclay family launched an aborted effort to sell Very last year before ultimately ceding control to Carlyle, marking the end of their involvement in the company after two decades.

The saga pushed Very to a loss of £500m in 2025 as it was forced to write off a major loan to its former owners.

Barclay’s fallen empire

Very Group was formed 20 years ago through the merger of Littlewoods and Shop Direct, overseen by brothers Sir Frederick and the late David Barclay.

The retailer, which sells a wide range of clothes, toys and electrical goods, has been chaired by Nadhim Zahawi, the former Tory minister, since 2024.

Very is one of a number of assets relinquished by the Barclay family as their business empire collapsed, alongside The Telegraph, parcel firm Yodel and their superyacht Lady Beatrice.

Aidan and Howard Barclay, the sons of David Barclay, narrowly avoided bankruptcy earlier this year after reaching an agreement with HSBC and other creditors concerning more than £140m in overdue debts.

The pair agreed to a debt repayment plan known as an Individual Voluntary Arrangement, though full details have not been disclosed and it is unclear how much of the debt will be recovered.

The family remains under pressure from other creditors, including Deutsche Bank, which has attempted to prise open a trust tied to Alistair Barclay, Aidan and Howard’s younger half-brother, as part of efforts to recover overdue debts of £19m.