Terra Firma considering sale of Garden Centre Group

Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd., the private-equity firm run by Guy Hands, is considering a sale of Garden Centre Group two years after buying the business, people familiar with the matter said.

The U.K.-based buyout firm has held talks with potential advisers about a sale or initial public offering of the Garden Centre Group, which could value the company at as much 700 million pounds ($1.2 billion), said the people, who asked not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Terra Firma bought the company from Lloyds Banking Group Plc in April 2012 in a deal that valued the company at 276 million pounds. The Garden Centre Group operates about 140 sites in the U.K. employing more than 5,000 people, according to the company’s website.

Terra Firma has changed the management of the company, appointing Kevin Bradshaw, former managing director of Avis U.K., as chief executive officer and Stephen Murphy, the former chief executive officer of Virgin Group Ltd., as chairman.

A spokeswoman for Terra Firma declined to comment, and a representative for Garden Centre Group did not immediately respond to telephone and e-mail requests seeking comment.

Source : Kiel Porter and Aaron Kirchfeld - Bloomberg
www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-27/terra-firma-said-to-mull-garden-centre-group-sale.html