Predators eye bargain deal for struggling discount retailer Poundland
The owner of Bensons for Beds is among a pack of suitors circling Poundland, the struggling discount retailer.
Sky News has learnt that Alteri, which recently missed out on a deal to buy the high street arm of WH Smith, is preparing to submit an offer for Poundland in the coming weeks.
Alteri is expected to be among a significant number of bidders for the chain, which has been put up for sale by Pepco Group, its current owner.
Warsaw-listed Pepco confirmed in March that it planned to explore a sale of the business, with Teneo hired to advise on an auction.
Last year, Poundland recorded roughly €2bn of sales.
It employs roughly 18,000 people.
Earlier this year, Pepco, which also trades as Pepco and Dealz in Europe, said Poundland had seen a like-for-like sales slump of 7.3% during the Christmas trading period.
In an accompanying trading statement, Pepco said that Poundland had suffered "a more difficult sales environment and consumer backdrop in the UK, alongside margin pressure and an increasingly higher operating cost environment".
"We expect that the toughest comparative quarter for Poundland is now behind us - the same quarter last year represented a period prior to the changes made within our clothing and GM [general merchandise] ranges - and therefore, we expect the negative sales performance for Poundland to moderate as we move through the year."
It added that Poundland would not increase the size of its store portfolio on a net basis during the course of this year.
Alteri, which is backed by the investment giant Apollo Global Management, declined to comment.
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