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Smythson sale is pencilled in the diary for Sam Cameron
Simon English10 Mar 2009
Smythson, the leather goods house that employs Samantha Cameron as creative director, could be up for sale.
The firm today appointed City bankers Cavendish Corporate Finance to examine the potential for a deal after receiving "a number of expressions of interest" from would-be buyers.
If a sale went ahead it could lead to a windfall for the Cameron family. Mrs Cameron has a small shareholding in the business where she has been creative director since 1996. The wife of Tory leader David is credited with injecting life into a staid business.
Fans of its leather goods and stationery are said to include Prince Charles and Gwyneth Paltrow. Smythson, based in Bond Street since 1887 and founded by Frank Smythson who claimed to have invented the first portable diary, expects to have sales in the current financial year of £20 million. Last year it made a profit of £1.4 million on sales of £16 million.
Smythson was bought by Kelso Place Asset Management and Venrex Investment Management in 2005 for £16 million.
Kelso is backed by Goldman Sachs banker Michael Sherwood while Venrex is controlled by Smythson chairman Mark Esiri.
Both recently pumped extra capital into the business to aid expansion. The company says that the appointment of Cavendish does not make it certain that a sale will go ahead.
Sion Kearsey of Kelso Place said: "Over the past four years, Smythson has developed into a very well recognised brand on the international stage. As a result we have been approached by a number of parties who are attracted by the strength of the brand and its potential for significant further growth."
The firm now has 17 outlets in the UK, USA, Hong Kong and Ireland.
Although Smythson insists it is on the up, it has not been immune to the recession. It recently halved the price of leather diaries after admitting it had a "surplus". Cavendish will now begin looking at the approaches from bidders. This "may or may not lead" to a formal offer for the firm, said a statement this morning.
This is not the first time Smythson has been at the centre of bid speculation. In 2005, Mrs Cameron said: "We always get a lot of interest from people trying to buy us because we're a beautiful brand."
Mr Cameron has mentioned his wife's business experience in speeches, once quipping: "I understand enterprise. I admire entrepreneurs. I should do - I go to bed with one every night."
