Last summer Dreams founder Mike Clare featured on the cover of Growing Business. He talked to me of his own dream, a 10-year plan to make the company a truly international business operating in Canada, China and Australia, where bed tastes are similar to the UK.
The charismatic entrepreneur talked about Dreams being his fifth ‘child’ and that he’d no sooner sell the business than sell one of his children. He joked that he doesn’t play golf so there would be nothing else to occupy his time.
These are lines he’s repeated many times over. But with the government’s ruling on taper relief set to be enforced in next week’s Budget is capital gains tax (CGT) pushing another entrepreneur towards the exit door?
It would certainly have to take something absolutely spectacular to make him consider an exit from the business he loves.
Well, if reports are to be believed, that time has come. The Daily Telegraph today reported that Clare has decided to sell the business to the Exponent Private Equity, which also owns Radley handbags and accessories, for a princely £200m.
The firm even has a successor lined up ready to fill Clare’s shoes in namesake John Clare of Dixons Store Group added the Telegraph report. With sales in 2007 hitting £200m and profits up 88% at £13.3m you can appreciate why it’s attracting suitors.
Two other firms apparently remain in the running. And only yesterday the Independent on Sunday reported that Clare was considering a stock market flotation valuing the business at £500m for the 170-strong chain of bed stores.
The entrepreneur and chairman of the brand, who owns 100% of the equity alongside his wife Carol, remains insistent that he might decide to hold on. But with KPMG Corporate Finance on board and the Budget looming it seems Clare is on the conveyor belt to exit – and it’s not easy to get off.
