Habitat sold and HobbyCraft up for sale

Habitat, the furniture retailer, has been sold to restructuring specialist Hilco.

Habitat campaign

Habitat, the furniture retailer, has been sold to restructuring specialist Hilco.

ICAF, Habitat’s former owner, agreed to provide an injection of €50m (£45m) to rid itself of the loss-making chain.

Chief executive Mark Saunders will stay in his position and continue his turnaround plan to make the company profitable within three years.

The chain was put up for sale in October, just weeks after Saunders launched “This is my Habitat”, a major marketing drive to promote the retailer’s new “consumer centred brand philosophy”.

At the time when the strategic review of the company was called Saunders vowed to maintain the focus on marketing and European expansion.

ICAF also owns Ikea.

Separately, HobbyCraft the UK’s largest craft retailer has appointed accountancy firm Grant Thornton as financial advisor to oversee a strategic review of the chain.

The chain’s management team, led by chief executive Chris Crombie, is thought to be looking at a potential buy-out of the family owned chain to pursue expansion.