Online retail giant Very Group hunts new chair in precursor to £4bn float

Very Group, one of Britain’s biggest online shopping platforms, is hunting a new chairman in a further sign of its preparations for a £4bn flotation in London.

Sky News has learnt that Very Group has instructed Spencer Stuart to identify an independent candidate who can steer the company through a forthcoming initial public offering (IPO).

The new chair will replace Aidan Barclay, a senior member of the family which controls Very Group.

It was unclear whether Mr Barclay would remain on Very’s board if a listing does take place.

News of the search comes weeks after Very Group hired Barclays, Morgan Stanley and UBS as global co-ordinators for an IPO that would be likely to take place next year.

Very is wholly owned by the Barclay family, proprietors of the Daily Telegraph and former owners of London’s Ritz Hotel.

If they proceed with the plans, it would be the first time that the Barclays have taken one of its flagship companies to the public markets.

Insiders have repeatedly cautioned, however, that a partial stake sale, with the company remaining privately held, continues to be an option.

The Barclay family has owned Very Group for nearly 20 years, during which they abandoned its historic Littlewoods catalogue and stores as consumer shopping habits migrated online.

The site sells clothing, electrical goods and toys, among other categories, and has become one of the UK’s biggest online retailers.

The Barclay twins – Sir David and Sir Fredrick – built one of Britain’s biggest private business empires, spanning media, property and retail assets.

Sir David’s death earlier this year is said to have accelerated a further evaluation of the family’s corporate interests.

A flotation of Very Group would be a logical move given the online shopping boom spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Full-year results for the 12 months to the end of June 2020 showed revenues of more than £2bn for the first time.

Key questions for fund managers who are approached about buying Very Group’s shares in an initial public offering will be the company’s ongoing governance structure and the extent of the Barclay family’s continued ownership.

Very Group is run by chief executive Henry Birch, the former Rank Group boss.

A number of online retailers, including THG Holdings, the owner of The Hut Group, have gone public in the last 12 months.

Taking one of their corporate interests public would be a radical departure for the Barclays, who have always been fiercely protective of their privacy.

This year’s Sunday Times Rich List estimated that the family had amassed Britain’s 28th-largest fortune and were worth £6bn.

The Barclays previously explored the possibility of bringing in external investors to Very Group in 2017, when it held talks with a number of large private equity firms.

A spokesman for Very Group declined to comment.

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