High street DIY business Fads, which has twice previously been sold for£1, has again raised the For Sale sign.
Fads Group has 103 shops and turnover of£30 million. The decision to seek a sale follows the placing of Fads' purchasing arm into administration in June, but stores are currently trading profitably.
The sale offer comes a week after Argos's£900 million pounce on Homebase and, according to one DIY industry executive, highlights the increasing difficulty of competing with the sector giants.
However, David Mond, of Fads (Purchasing) Ltd's joint administrator Hodgsons, said Fads does not compete directly with B&Q.
'A lot of interest has been expressed in continuing with the brand,' he said.
In contrast to£1, he said a 'substantial sum' is being sought.
The average Fads store size is 280 sq m and built around ranges including paints, wallpaper and tools. A 99p Shop format has also been developed.
Retail Knowledge Bank research director Robert Clark said Fads has failed to sustain itself under various ownerships and is a victim of the DIY superstores.
Fads was part of the Ward White empire acquired by Boots in 1989. The health and beauty giant then offloaded it to venture capitalist Alchemy for a token£1.
In 1999, Alchemy sold the business to Homestyle - then called Rosebys - and Homestyle's bosses retained 128 shops and passed the remainder to the management for£1.
In 1999/2000 Fads made a pre-tax profit of£1.1 million.
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