Terry Green leads Allders buyout bid

Terry Green, the chief executive of Allders, is trying to put together the financing for a bid for the department store group.

Terry Green, the chief executive of Allders, is trying to put together the financing for a bid for the department store group.

Formerly the chief executive at Philip Green's Bhs chain and, before that, at Debenhams, Mr Green emerged yesterday as one of a number of parties interested in acquiring Allders.

Minerva, the listed property group which has a 60 per cent stake in the private Allders, said yesterday it had started a sales process for the retail business after receiving expressions of interest. Minerva itself has been up for sale since the summer and it is thought that a sale of its interest in Allders would help that process. However, it is understood that Minerva is keen to stress that its exposure to the loss-making Allders, which could be worth up to £160m including debt, is limited.

Analysts said the department store groups House of Fraser and Debenhams were likely to be interested in all or most of the Allders portfolio. It is thought that retailers such as Next and Gap would be interested in some Allders sites.

The company has 25 department stores and 20 Homes stores, which are smaller and have a more limited range of goods. John Lewis is understood to be interested in the 350,000 sq ft Allders planned for the new Minerva development in Croydon. It would replace a nearby Allders store.

Allders comes with £130m of debt but this is ring-fenced and is non-recourse to its shareholders. Apart from Minerva, Lehman Brothers, the bank, owns 20 per cent, while Mr Green and the Allders finance director, Phil Cox, own the remaining 20 per cent. Minerva and Lehman have each loaned £10m to Allders to cover its working capital requirements.

Analysts said that without any published trading data on Allders, it was difficult to estimate its value.