Primark owner ponders sale as shoppers rein in spending

PRIMARK may be sold off by parent company, consumer goods giant ABF, after sales fell 3.5%.

- By Amber Murray

ABE, which also owns Kingsmill and Twinings, said it is undertaking “comprehensive review” of the retailer, founded in Dublin as Pennies in 1969.

This will be carried out with the help of advisers Rothschild & Co and is backed by its largest shareholder, the Weston family’s Wittington Investments.

The FTSE 100 company said the family, which owns 59% of ABE, was “committed to maintaining majority ownership of both businesses”.

Primark has suffered as shoppers tightened their belts resulting in the fall in like-for-like sales this year. It has also been clobbered by runaway inflation and energy costs.