Retail Chain Comet to Be Sold for £2

A bargain for investment firm OpCapita.

Earlier this week we got word of the untimely demise of Best Buy UK. Now it seems things aren't going so well for Comet, either. That said, rather than shut down stores, the struggling company, which has seen a 20 percent decline in retail sales for the first half of its financial year, has been sold to an investment firm for the princely sum of £2.

The Guardian cites parent company Kesa Electricals as saying it would also be giving new owner OpCapita a £50 million investment. Kesa will apparently get a return on this investment if Comet is sold on for more than £70m. However, the company isn't holding its breath for a huge return.

"The £50m is categorised as an investment," Chairman David Newlands is quoted as saying. "We had to pay £50m to get the business away. We will write it off as having no value."

OpCapita says it has no intention to make redundancies nor does it plan to close down Comet's near-250 stores nation-wide. The company will continue to operate Comet for at least 18 months from completion of the deal, which is expected to be signed and seal by February of next year. As part of the deal, Kesa will retain responsibility for the Comet pension scheme, which has a £39m deficit.

Read the full story on the Guardian.