Kesa sells Comet for £2

Coming shortly after news of Best Buy’s UK retreat, another big box out-of-town chain has found itself on the rocks.

Fortunately, however, the future is somewhat brighter for Comet, which was last night sold by its parent firm Kesa to Hailey Holdings and Hailey Acquisitions for just 2.

The pair have been bankrolled by private equity firm OpCapita.

In return for the handover Kesa has vowed to invest 50m into Hailey and retain liability for Comet’s current benefit pension scheme, which is said to be running at a deficit of around 40m.

The move comes as Comet reports a Q2 sales fall of 19 per cent.

The board believes that a disposal on the terms agreed with the purchasers is in the best interests of ordinary shareholders and delivers a more certain outcome than continuing with the turnaround plan,” Kesa chairman David Newlands insisted.