Jones Bootmaker up for sale with £50m price tag

Chief executive Ken Bartle and chairman Peter Phillips are thought to be seeking around £40m to £50m for the business, which has 93 stores. A source close to the retailer said closer to £40m was more likely.

It is understood the retailer is close to appointing accountancy firm BDO to handle the sale.

Jones Bootmaker almost trebled EBITDA in the year to January 30, from £1.4m to £4m, after a strategy change to focus more on branded merchandise. It is thought to be on track to generate EBITDA of £6m in the current year.

Jones also plans to overhaul its website this autumn to help double online sales to £5m next year, and will open five shops this year.

Bartle and Phillips, backed by a group of unknown investors, injected £4.5m into Jones in March and regained control of the business from private equity firm Arev and its Icelandic investment fund Kcaj. The duo now have a combined stake of over 70%, while Arev and Kcaj have around 18%. In March, Jones also underwent a £5m refinancing with Barclays Commercial Bank.

Jones is the latest retailer to go up for sale this year. Fellow footwear retailer Office went up for sale last month, and value fashion group Peacocks is also on the market. Niche retailers HobbyCraft and Pets at Home were sold earlier this year.