Retail news round-up on February 20, 2014: Banks lines up £5bn debt financing for Morrisons sale, Garden Centre Group hires promotional space firm, Lovehoney to star in TV series and Smiggle opens its first UK store.

Banks line up £5bn debt financing for Morrisons sale

Banks are lining up £5bn debt financing packages to back the sale of grocer Morrisons. The founding family of Morrisons, which owns a 9.5% stake in the retailer, has contacted buyout firms to estimate their interest, Reuters reported.

Morrisons’ stock has risen 4.9%, valuing the group at more than £5.4bn, following reports CVC Capital Partners and Carlyle Group may buy the business. A £5bn debt financing will be one of the largest buyout financings since the financial crisis. Morrisons declined to comment.

Garden Centre Group appoints Space and People to manage promotional space

Promotional space marketing company Space and People has been awarded a five-year contract by Garden Centre Group to manage its promotional space offering to external brands, Horticulture Week reported.

Internal and external sites ranges are available for a variety of different promotional activities including car displays and home improvement products and services.

Lovehoney to turn on viewers with new TV series Frisky Business

Sex toy etailer Lovehoney is the latest retailer to take centre-stage in a TV series, with a fly-on-the-wall documentary named Frisky Business to debut next month.The six-part series, which will air on Sky Lifetime from March 26, follows life inside the Bath-based retailer and carries the tagline “meet the team turning Britain on”.

Frisky Business follows the success of Lovehoney’s one-off Channel 4 documentary More Sex Please, We’re British, which aired in 2012.

Australian stationer Smiggle makes UK debut as it plans rapid store expansion

Australian stationery chain Smiggle opened its first UK store in Westfield Stratford City today as it plans a rapid roll out across the country. Smiggle’s debut UK shop kicked off its plans to cover the UK with up to 300 stores in the next five years. The retailer has signed for 11 stores before the end of July and up to 25 are set to be trading by the end of November.

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