Trouva owner Made.com is in talks with several potential bidders

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 4, 2022

Furniture retailer Made.com — which has also owned Trouva since the spring — may be facing a sea of troubles as its losses widen, but the up-for-sale business still seems to be in demand.

It updated on its formal sale process of Tuesday and said that it has “now entered into non-disclosure agreements and begun discussions with a number of interested parties regarding the sale of the group”.

It didn’t name any of the potential bidders but said the parties will be invited to put forward non-binding indicative proposals in the middle of October.  

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The board will review these proposals and expects “a select number of parties will be invited to participate in a second phase to conclude as soon as practicable thereafter”.

It also said it would “make interested parties aware” that management’s current plan for Made as a standalone public company is expected to require aggregate funding of between £45 million and £70 million over the course of the next 18 months.

Despite targeting growth and seeming upbeat as it bought Trouva to support that aim earlier this year, the company has faced major issues and put itself up for sale last month. Only last week it reported wider half-yearly losses on the back of higher costs and heavy discounting as UK consumer cut back on non-essential purchases.

Its loss before tax was £35.3 million in the six months to June 30, after a loss of £10.1 million a year earlier.