Currys strikes £175m deal to sell Greek and Cypriot business
Electronics retailer Currys has agreed a deal to sell its Greek and Cypriot arm for 200 million euros (£175 million).
Currys will sell the business, called Kotsovolos, to Greek power generation and supply giant Public Power Corporation (PPC).
The division was put up for review in June as part of Currys’s plan to focus solely on its larger UK and Ireland and Nordics businesses, with aims to turnaround the loss-making Nordic arm.
The deal is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2024.
Alex Baldock, Currys chief executive said: “This proposed sale of Kotsovolos is an excellent outcome for Currys and for our shareholders.
“It recognises Kotsovolos’s value and accelerates its realisation.
“As a group, we’re focused on maintaining our encouraging momentum in the UK and Ireland and getting the Nordics back on track; this disposal will further strengthen the foundations on which we do both.”
Kotsovolos has 95 stores, including three in Cyprus, and made underlying earnings of £43 million in the last financial year on revenues of £637 million.
Athens-based buyers PPC is the largest power supplier in Greece and is the majority owner of the country’s electricity distribution network.
Currys is focusing its efforts on its UK and Ireland business, where trading has been reasonably solid, and on reviving sales at the Nordics chain, where it has been struggling for a while.
Sales in the Nordics fell 8% in the 17 weeks to the end of August.
A poor performance in the division saw underlying group profits dragged lower by 38% to £119 million in 2022-23, offsetting a 45% earnings hike in the UK.
The retailer was hit by disruption in its stores across the Nordic countries last year, leading to losses.
Low demand left its competitors with excess stock, leading rival stores to slash prices while Currys kept its prices the same, meaning it made virtually no money across the region.
Trading has since remained challenging in the Nordics and Currys has been slashing costs across the region in response.
Published: by Radio NewsHub