Sports Direct has dropped out of the bidding war for Patisserie Valerie, just days after tabling an offer reported to be worth more than £15m.
The group was said to be unhappy about its treatment during the bidding process, according to the Financial Times, which reported that Mike Ashley’s firm had “not been allowed access to a data room, any financial information or meetings with management”, leaving the company “at a serious disadvantage as a bidder”.
The administrators told Sports Direct it would need to increase its bid by as much as £2m, which the company said it was “not able to match” without having access to “any due diligence, financial information or management meetings”.
Patisserie Valerie collapsed into administration in January, putting almost 3,000 jobs at risk.
KPMG was appointed to attempt to find a buyer for the cafe chain, however, several branches have already been closed, resulting in 920 redundancies.
Sports Direct has recently snapped up a number of failing brands, buying House of Fraser moments after it fell into administration last August, and subsequently purchasing Evans Cycles as part of a pre-pack administration.
The group was also in the running to buy HMV, which was instead sold to Canadian chain Sunrise Records.
