French Groupe Ludendo snap up iconic toy shop Hamleys

Published on 18/09/2012 00:00

Iconic toy shop Hamleys has been sold to a French rival for an estimated £60 million.

The 250-year-old firm, which has seven outlets in the UK and Ireland – including a branch in Glasgow and a seven-storey flagship store on London’s Regent Street – has been bought by Groupe Ludendo, which runs more than 300 toy stores across Belgium, France, Morocco, Spain and Switzerland.

Hamleys was mainly owned by nationalised Icelandic bank Landsbanki. Bracken, a private equity group run by David Rowland, owned a minority stake.