HMV’s rescuer Hilco in a £3 million dividend bonanza

Hilco, the turnaround firm which rescued HMV from going bust, dished out £3 million in dividends last year despite profits almost halving.

The British arm of the business, Hilco London Limited, made sales of £83 million for the year to December, up from £80 million the year before, Companies House accounts show.

Its pre-tax profits fell from £3 million to £1.8 million. It also paid £3.1 million in dividends to its parent company, Hilco Trading, based in America.

Hilco bought DIY chain Homebase for £1 in May from Australia’s Wesfarmers, which had hoped to use Homebase to take on B&Q but failed by ditching some of its popular products.

The firm bought HMV, the music retailer, from administrators in 2013, and has revived the business, although it has fewer High Street shops. Other investments include Habitat, now owned by supermarkets chain Sainsbury’s, and Office Outlet, previously known as Staples.

The company also advised and pumped emergency cash into two of the High Street’s biggest casualties, the now-defunct department store chain BHS and Woolworths.