Rainham, England, June 22—-Carpet king Lord Harris of Peckham has a lot in common with grumpy, woolly-faced multi-millionaire Sir Alan Sugar.
He has few good words to say about the City, and remains tired of the paltry rating afforded his beloved company Carpetright, which is still the world's largest carpet retailer.
For that reason, dealers were taking very seriously revived trade gossip that the 61-year-old Conservative supporter is drawing up plans to take his "baby" private. Amid the speculation, the shares touched 905p before closing a plush 7p better at 902p.
Dealers even heard that major shareholders Saudi Arabian investor Olayan Group, which holds 14.1%, and value investor Harris Associates, with 5.2%, have been sounded out by Lord Harris about a possible exit price and have given the thumbs-up.
Confirmation of the deal could even come with the group's annual results due at the end of the month. From a high of 1180p in December, Carpetright's share price dropped to a threadbare low of 808p following a profits warning in April. Harris blamed a 'difficult trading environment' for a 5.9% slide in like-for-like sales in UK and Ireland in the 25 weeks to April 30.
Broker Panmure believes trading in the fourth-quarter has been very poor, with like-for-like sales at Carpetright down a worse-than-expected 8%, and has slashed its earnings forecasts by a further 5% to £62.1m for this year and by 15% to £59.6m for next year.
