The owners of American Golf, Britain’s biggest specialist golf retailer, are teeing up a sale of the chain nearly seven years after rescuing the company.
Sky News has learnt that Endless, the investment firm, is lining up advisers to oversee an auction.
Sources said that Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) was expected to be formally appointed in the coming days.
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American Golf, which trades from 95 stores and employs about 600 people including part-time staff, sells products manufactured by leading golf brands such as Garmin and TaylorMade.
It was rescued by Endless in 2018 after a sale process which also involved the Frasers Group billionaire Mike Ashley.
The chain’s ownership has included the COVID pandemic, when non-essential retailers were shut for prolonged periods, with Endless said to have supported the business financially during the pandemic.
American Golf has shrunk modestly in size since the 2018 deal, with roughly 80% of the stores it acquired still trading.
The retailer’s likely valuation today is unclear.
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It was previously owned by Sun European Partners, another investment firm, which acquired it from LDC, the private equity division of Lloyds Banking Group.
Endless declined to comment on Friday.
