Yardley receivership not a bed of roses
At least a quarter of the 69 potential suitors for Yardley, the cosmetics and perfumes group that went into receivership last week, have no intention of bidding for it.
According to Tony Thompson – one of the two receivers from KPMG appointed by Yardley’s bankers – there is a band of ‘usual suspects’ that claim they are ‘interested parties’ whenever the firm takes on an appointment, but never bid.
‘There has been a quite remarkable level of interest,’ he said, ‘but we are not talking to everyone. We first have to round up the usual suspects – the groups that offer to buy everything we take on.’
Last year, Yardley attempted to move away from its old lace and lavender image, when it swapped English rose Helena Bonham Carter (above) for supermodel Linda Evangelista, but the move failed to increase annual sales of #60m.
Instead, debts mounted to #120m, leading to an annual interest bill of #12m.
Thompson said it was unlikely Revlon, LVMH or any of the other suitors would present a knock-out bid. ‘It will be at least a couple of weeks before we get close to a deal.’