UK’s Made.com in talks with potential suitors about a sale

(Reuters) -British online furniture retailer Made.com said on Tuesday it has started talks with a number of interested parties for a potential sale of the company, with bids expected by the middle of the month.

The retailer, currently valued at about 13.2 million pounds ($15 million), started laying off staff last month and had reported a wider half-yearly losses a week back, as it struggled with supply chain snags and higher costs.

Made.com said it would inform potential suitors that it currently estimates it would need between 45 million pounds and 70 million pounds to operate as a stand-alone public company over the next 18 months.

Retailers such as Made.com are struggling as consumers grapple with a worsening cost-of-living crisis given the rise in prices of everything from food to fuel, which is forcing them to curb spending on non-essential purchases like furniture.

Made.com, which was valued at about 775 million pounds at its stock market debut 15 months back, said it would ask potential suitors to table their initial proposals in mid-October.

The current discussions may be altered or ended at any point and there was no certainty an offer would be made, the company cautioned. ($1 = 0.8800 pounds)

(Reporting by Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)