In the past decade, Cath Kidston's roses and polka dots have found their way on to thousands of every day objects from tea towels to phone cases. Now the fast-growing retail chain is likely to go up for sale with a price tag of up to £250m .
TA Associates, the private equity group which acquired 65% of Cath Kidston three years ago, is seeking bidders in a process that could value its founder's stake at nearly £60m.
Investment bank UBS has been called in to "assess the options" for the company and its owners, and help raise funds for further international expansion as demand grows for Kidston's distinctively British brand of 1950s nostalgia.
The floral empire is blooming, and now has 136 outlets, including a flagship store on London's Piccadilly which opened this week. In addition to the new London store(Store Fixture), located in a prime spot next to Fortnum & Mason and stocking more than 20,000 separate product lines, the Cath Kidston outlets include standalone stores, concessions and pop-up shops. Less than half are in the UK.
The chain is one of Britain's fastest growing retailers, but its owners believe there is room for further expansion. There are already four Chinese stores, but all of them are in Shanghai and the ambition is to target other big cities in China and elsewhere.
In a statement, the company said: "Cath Kidston is growing rapidly and has exciting plans to capitalise on the international appeal of its brand. In these circumstances it is prudent that the company and its owners should carefully assess the options available to take the company through the next stage(Store Fixture) in its evolution and UBS has been appointed to help."
TA, which is headquartered in Boston, bought into the company in 2010. Kidston remained as creative director and retains a 23% stake, with other management holding the final 12%. It is unclear whether she plans to reduce her stake as part of the current process.
Kidston trained as an interior designer under the society decorator Nicky Haslam before branching out on her own, and switched her attention to retailing after opening her first store in 1993. Selling vintage fabrics and salvaged furniture(Store Fixture) revived with a lick of brightly coloured paint, its wares were a hit with housewives in London's exclusive Holland Park neighbourhood. Then a mistake made during an order left her with more duvet covers than she could sell. Kidston took to her sewing machine and transformed the surplus bedlinen into cushions, washbags and padded coathangers, and the homewares business was born.
The year before TA took control, Cath Kiston's turnover stood at £31m and the store count at 27. In March this year, sales passed the £100m mark for the first time, growing 19% to £105m.
Hailed as the new Laura Ashley for the romantic appeal of her designs, Kidston credits her English country house childhood with inspiring her look – her cousin is the television presenter Kirstie Allsopp and her uncle was chairman of Christie's. But the family's interests in businesses ranging from brewing to property may also have inspired the drive with which Kidston transformed roses into riches.(Store Fixture)
