"We are also considering selling Primark, but I wonder how much His Royal Highness will offer?"
As if she was prepared for this question, Alana said calmly.
"According to our research, Primark currently has a total of 110 stores, with a turnover of around £250 million in the past year and a profit margin of around 11%. Therefore, based on these data, we believe that £300 million is a very reasonable price."
There are relatively common valuation standards for this type of clothing chain retail store, and retail stores like these rarely own their own properties. In other words, they only consider owning properties in very important locations, so the valuation calculations will not be too different.
"Too low, Your Highness. You have only considered the valuation of Primark's 110 stores. And what you need to see is that Primark's sales have been growing recently…"
Alana shook her head and said,
"And most importantly, Primark is a well-known brand with a 34-year history. The brand itself has great value..."
"I want to correct one thing, Ms. Weston, it's not 34 years, it's 30 years..."
Barron is referring to the time when the Weston family behind Associated British Foods (ABF) hired Dubliner Arthur Ryan to develop the group's retail business in 1969.
Arthur Ryan used 50,000 pounds of start-up funds to open a cheap clothing store in Dublin and named it "Penneys", which has the same pronunciation as "penny".
When the business extended to England in 1973, as the American department store JC Penney had already registered the trademark locally, "Penneys" was renamed "Primark" and has been used in all regions except Ireland to this day.
Therefore, of Primark's 110 stores at this time, 38 stores in Ireland use the Penneys brand, and the remaining stores in the UK use the Primark brand.
Barron continued:
"If you think Primark is so valuable, then we can just buy the stores and leave the Primark brand to ABF..."
After hearing what Barron said, Alana's face turned very bad:
"If that's the case, I don't think there's any need for us to continue talking."
"Haha, Ms. Weston, it's just a joke, don't be angry."
Barron comforted her:
"Since we both think that £300 million is a fair price for the stores alone..."
"Your Highness the Duke..."
"Please listen to me first, ma'am. Adding the value of the brand, we can offer a price of 350 million pounds."
"At least £400 million, I think a price of £350 million would be difficult to get the ABF board to agree to."
Barron didn't want to bargain with Alana at this time. He said,
"In fact, I don't think the value of the Primark brand is as high as 100 million pounds. You know, Primark has been facing many accusations over the years, including plagiarism and child labor. I believe you also know that these accusations have had a lot of impact on ABF's overall image. It's just that ABF's main sugar food business has weak growth and needs Primark's cash flow as a supplement."
"But since fast fashion brands such as ZARA and H&M entered the British market, Primark has also been hit hard. Currently, Primark's business growth can only be achieved by increasing its business area, that is, opening new stores or acquiring stores. So overall, I think my offer is very reasonable, and this is also ABF's best chance to get rid of the Primark brand."
After Barron finished speaking, Alana was silent for a moment and then said:
"I will bring your offer to the ABF board of directors, Your Highness. As for whether this offer will be approved, I cannot guarantee it."
"Okay, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation, Ms. Weston. Otherwise, I can only acquire other brands... such as TOPSHOP and Littlewoods, which have been developing well recently. In fact, I have many choices. I am afraid that you will find that there will be our stores next to every Primark store. This is not a threat, but an upcoming reality."
…
By the time Barron returned to The Holme in Regent's Park, Tamaran had already woken up and was curled up in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the third-floor living room, reading a magazine in her hand.
When she saw Barron walk into the room, a smile immediately broke out on her face.
But when she stood up to greet Barron, her brows slightly frowned. It was obvious that the movement of her standing up pulled the injured area.
Barron sat next to her, held her in his arms, and asked softly:
"What did you do this afternoon?"
"It's nothing. I asked Ms. Feola to buy me some magazines to read. I'm just killing time."
Tamaran said obediently.
"Are you hungry? Let me take you out to eat something."
At The Holme, since Barron doesn't live here all the time, a simple breakfast can be made here, but it's better to eat out for a more complicated lunch and dinner.
But soon, the cook he requested will be able to take up the position, and then The Holme will be more complete.
"Well, I'm a little hungry..."
However, when Tamaran stood up, he still needed Barron's help, which made her punch Barron's arm with her fist:
"Bad guy, it's all because of you..."
Well, Barron was a little speechless. It was the first time for him to learn knowledge with her, and Barron wanted to guide her step by step, but he didn't expect...
Who told you to be so ignorant that you insisted on making me speed up...my learning progress?
…
Because he didn't want to be disturbed, and mainly to prevent being secretly photographed, Barron took Tamarin to the Tang Banquet Pavilion of the Devonshire Hotel for dinner.
After dinner, Barron took the girl home.
Of course, the Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped at the door of Tamaran's villa, and the two of them couldn't help but linger reluctantly in the car.
Just looking at Tamaran's current condition, he must take a good rest for two days.
After cooperating with Barron, Tamaran's father Bernie Ecclestone has begun to help him contact the German Bayerischer Bank, which currently holds 50% of SLEC's shares, hoping to quietly reach an agreement with the other party and buy out their shares.
As long as they can deal with the Bayerischer Bank and get their 50% of SLEC shares, then together with Bernie Ecclestone's 25%, they will be able to control 75% of SLEC shares.
Under such circumstances, the two American banks were unable to recover and were forced to sell their shares.
As for how Bernie Ecclestone would "persuade" the German Bayerischer Bank...
Barron had already understood this from his memories of his previous life.
It's embarrassing to think about it. Bernie helped Barron do the "dirty work" and he even slept with his daughter today…
However, Barron thought that, after all, Bernie was also doing it for his own sake so that he could continue to control the commercial operations of F1 and make a profit from it.
And he himself would not treat Tamaran unfairly, and Barron came to terms with his small guilt...
In order to carry out his plan to acquire SLEC, Barron specially registered a company called Pioneer Sports Group. In the future, he will purchase SLEC shares through this company.
Pioneer Sports Group will be wholly owned by Rich23 Capital, an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
It is worth mentioning that the offshore company Rich23 Capital, judging from the surface information, has nothing to do with Barron, because although the company's registrant does exist, he may not even know that such a company exists.
It's just that the control of Rich23 Capital is in Barron's hands.
The reason for such a seemingly strange name is simply that Barron wanted to commemorate the memories brought about by that time and the wealth he created.