Schuh chief dismisses call for firm to be sold

The chief executive of Livingston-based footwear retailer Schuh has dismissed the prospect of the company being sold off, despite activist investor pressure on its US parent to make such a move.

Colin Temple said he was confident in the footwear chain’s performance and believes it will continue to prosper under the ownership of Genesco, which bought the firm for £100 million in 2011.

He said the retailer has ben- efited from “being part of the wider group” and that “if the activist investors were able to understand that, it might help”. The comments come after Legion Partners wrote to Genesco last week, saying the UK footwear chain was among the businesses that stood to improve under “separate ownership”.

Schuh has 105 shops across the UK, plus outlets in Ireland and Germany. Temple added that the chain remains profitable and he does not currently see it “taking a knife to” its store portfolio.