Grant Thornton has been hired to assess strategic options for Hobbycraft, the retailer that specialises in arts and crafts. One likely scenario is a £70m trade sale.
An auction could take place early in 2010, though a buy-out from the firm's family owners is also to be explored. The management believes a new investor would be able to help the company to vastly increase its number of stores.
Hobbycraft's chief executive, Chris Crombie, says the business has benefited from a renewed interest in old-fashioned crafts and thrift in the current economic downturn.
Warren Haskins, the chairman of the Haskins Garden Centre Group, established Hobbycraft in 1995 with the first store in Bournemouth. The now 39-store retailer stocks over 38,000 arts and crafts products, and has over 1,000 employees in its shops and its head office in Christchurch, Dorset.
Sales for the year to 22 February, 2008 increased by 11% to £68.7m, and pre-tax profits rose to £5.4m. The average spend per customer is £14 per visit. 60% of Hobbycraft's customers are women.
