The U.K. footwear retail chain, Office, is changing hands. European private equity firm Silverfleet Capital, announced Monday that it has agreed to sell Office Retail Group to South African fashion retailer, Truworths International for $385 million. The transaction is expected to close in this month and is subject to approval by the South African Reserve Bank.
Since Silverfleet purchased Office in December 2010, the company significantly enhanced its e-commerce, expanded its stand-alone stores in the U.K. and Ireland from 75 to 115 and increased the number of concessions to 47. Total sales in the financial year to January 2015 were £270 million (approx. $406 million). Online sales now account for 20 percent of the company’s overall sales.
In a statement, Gareth Whiley, partner at Silverfleet Capital, said, “Office has been one of the great success stories in shoe retailing and has experienced tremendous growth in a competitive space. It is a fantastic business with an excellent management team whom we have worked with very closely over the past five years. We are delighted with our successful investment in the Company achieving a 3.4x return and wish the team every success in the future.”