Faith steps out with £50m

JONATHAN Faith, the owner of Faith Shoes, will be filling his boots with an estimated £50m payout after the sale of his business to private equity firm Bridgepoint for £64m including debt.

This is the latest in several deals in the shoe sector as retailers continue to capture the imagination of private equity firms. Those that have been snapped up by venture capitalists include Jimmy Choo and clothing and shoe retailer Hobbs. Rival LK Bennett, which also sells shoes and frocks, is on the sale block.

Faith's father Samuel founded the shoe chain in 1964. It now has 67 shops and 120 concessions in department stores, mainly Debenhams. Faith will exit the business completely following the sale. He owns the vast majority of the shares, though some are in the hands of management including managing director Jacqueline O'Neill and finance director Lindsay Dunsmuir.

Last year Faith made underlying earnings of more than £6m on sales of £73.5m. Bridgepoint sees 'substantial scope for expansion' and is considering allowing the brand to be franchised overseas.

Sale talks first began almost a year ago but stalled in the spring when Bridgepoint got cold feet after a downturn in trading.