A major Currys shareholder has urged the firm to sell its mobile phones division in the wake of two failed takeover attempts for the electricals retailer.
Fund manager JO Hambro, which holds a 4.5% stake in the retailer, wants Currys to sell ID Mobile, a subsidiary that sells monthly phone contracts and is valued at around £350 million, according to The Sunday Times.
Last month, both US investor Elliott and Chinese retail giant JD.com walked away from takeover talks with Currys.
Hambro, the eighth biggest shareholder in Currys, was among shareholders that urged the firm to hold out for at least £1bn from a prospective sale.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
The shareholder, which has upped its holding in the retailer since the takeover attempts came to an end, said in a letter to investors: “The pressure will now be on the board to realise shareholder value, where our favoured option would remain the sale of ID Mobile.”
ID Mobile was launched in 2015 by Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone business owned by Currys, to sell mobile phone contracts. It now has more than 1.5m subscribers.
Last month, Currys raised its profit outlook for the year after posting stronger-than-expected sales since Christmas. Pre-tax profit is now expected to be “at least” £115m, versus its previous guidance of £105 to £115m as like-for-likes were “positive” and gross margins “robust”.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
