Spotlight snapping up Scarfe stores
THE Spotlight retail empire owned by the Melbournebased Fraid family has won rights to buy ailing department store chain Harris Scarfe.
Administrators and receivers yesterday revealed they had granted to the Spotlight Group exclusivity over a Harris Scarfe deal.
It follows a due-diligence process in which four parties were short-listed and given access to the key trading records for the business.
Harris Scarfe was put in voluntary administration shortly before Christmas.
It was the second time the retailer had collapsed and administrators from Deloitte have been searching for a buyer since.
“The Spotlight Group is a family-owned, longstanding and highly experienced Australasian retailer with a large property portfolio,’’ the administrators said in a statement yesterday. It was “ideally suited to enabling future growth for Harris Scarfe employees and all stakeholders”, the statement said.
Spotlight is a national fabric, craft and home decor business owned by billionaire Morry Fraid and nephew Zac Fried.
It has more than 130 Spotlight stores across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
The company also owns the Anaconda camping and hiking-goods chain, and clothing and equipment brand Mountain Designs.
Employing more than 7500 staff, the $2 billion group controls an extensive portfolio of retail property across the country.
The family has a stake and board position at HomeCo, a retail property group that was floated last year by former UBS investment banker David Di Pilla.
Receivers to Harris Scarfe are seeking to secure ongoing employment for the remaining 1300 staff and the survival of the 170-year-old Australian business.
“There is still a lot of work we need to do together to finalise the transaction and we will be working with the Spotlight Group and the Harris Scarfe leadership team to make this happen,” said Vaughan Strawbridge, from Deloitte.
“We are hopeful all of the 44 stores will be retained under the sale but ultimately, this will be dependent on how the transaction progresses over the next couple of weeks.”
It is expected a deal could be settled as soon as mid April.
Harris Scarfe was put in administration on December 11 by private equity house Allegro Funds, which had taken ownership of the company soon before. It has since closed 21 stores, including three in Victoria, at Box Hill, Bendigo and Mildura.