Carlyle is set to abandon the planned sale of The Very Group after potential buyers, including Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, failed to meet the private equity firm’s £2 billion minimum asking price.
The auction process, launched earlier in 2026, is now unlikely to proceed, leaving Carlyle as the owner of the online retailer for the foreseeable future, according to Sky News.
The Very Group was formerly part of the Barclay family’s sprawling business empire, which also included The Telegraph newspapers and London’s prestigious Ritz hotel.
The Barclay family had originally taken control of the then-Littlewoods Group from the Moores family in October 2002, before the retail arm eventually passed to Carlyle through a financial restructuring.
Sources familiar with the matter said that running a sale process had been a condition of the change of control that brought The Very Group under Carlyle’s ownership.
However, those same sources noted that the obligation to launch an auction did not require Carlyle to accept any offer below its stated minimum threshold of £2 billion.
PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed as administrator to VGL Holdco in November, a move that allowed Carlyle, a long-standing creditor, to assume ownership of the retailer for a nominal £1.
International Media Investments, the Abu Dhabi media vehicle that backed a failed bid to acquire The Telegraph from the Barclay family, also became a major lender to Very in the complex restructuring deal.
Both Carlyle and International Media Investments have helped keep the retail group financially afloat as they seek to recoup their investments through an eventual sale of the business.
JD.com was reported to have been seriously considering a bid for Very, but the Chinese e-commerce company grew reluctant to pursue another major transaction while its proposed acquisition of German electronics retailer Ceconomy remains subject to ongoing regulatory scrutiny in Europe.
The Very Group, which sells fashion, beauty, homeware and electrical goods through its Very and Littlewoods brands, serves approximately 4.4 million customers and generates annual revenue of more than £2 billion.
Interim results for the 39 weeks ending March 28, 2026, offered a mixed picture, with retail revenue growing 0.1 percent year-on-year to £1 billion, driven partly by 7.5 percent growth in the sports category.
The group’s overall fashion segment declined 4.5 percent in what the company described as a “tough market,” while group retail sales including Littlewoods and Very Ireland fell 1.6 percent to £1.2 billion.
Very is one of several assets relinquished by the Barclay family as their business empire collapsed, alongside The Telegraph, parcel firm Yodel, and their superyacht Lady Beatrice.
