Revolution war of words hots up again

● Deltic comes in with 65/35 share split proposal to woo investors

sales rose by 1.5 per cent in the year, but said trading since its year-end has been hit by a “disappointing” September, with first-quarter sales growth of just 0.3 per cent.

Revolution had previously said its earnings have been hit by a sector-wide surge in costs, including the impact of the living wage and the new apprenticeship levy, as well as an above-inflation increase in business rates.

But Deltic, whose brands include PRYZM, Atik and Fiction, yesterday branded Revolution’s reaction to such headwinds as “slow and defeatist”. Douglasjack,ananalystatpeel Hunt, said Deltic’s earnings power – having nearly doubled since 2013 – made its merger proposal worth considering. He said: “With such strong growth and returns, there is a case for equity offers being as attractive as cash offers.

“Revolution shareholders... now have to decide whether to follow the board’s recommendation to take cash and de-list the company, or aspire to something greater.”

Revolution said yesterday it would provide a response to Deltic’s latest proposal “in due course”, while Stonegate chairman Ian Payne said Deltic “does not offer any cash”, was highly conditional and “uncertain as to deliverability and timing”.