Flying Tiger Copenhagen, the Danish discount retailer known for its homewares and craft kits, has been acquired by Modella Capital, a UK private equity firm. The deal covers about 1,000 stores worldwide, including 80 in the UK, where the company employs over 1,000 people.
Acquisition Details
Modella Capital, which already owns the former high street arm of WH Smith (now TG Jones), is making its first investment outside the UK. The firm has gained a reputation for rapid and hard-nosed restructuring, raising fears about Flying Tiger's future.
Modella is currently seeking creditor approval for a plan that could close up to 150 TG Jones stores, including 60 housing Post Offices, with hundreds of job losses. Two other Modella-owned retailers, Claire's and The Original Factory Shop, collapsed earlier this year, eliminating about 2,500 jobs. Hobbycraft, acquired in 2024, has closed at least nine stores via a company voluntary arrangement.
Management and Strategy
Modella is backing Flying Tiger's existing management team and their expansion plan, which includes opening over 700 new franchise stores globally by 2030. Joseph Price, Modella's managing director, stated: "With its strong retail brand, and a unique product offering that has built a loyal customer base across more than 40 countries, Flying Tiger Copenhagen is a business with tremendous potential."
John Dueholm, chair of Flying Tiger, added: "Throughout the process, we have been focused on finding the right long-term owner for the business, and we believe Modella Capital is very well placed as the new majority shareholder to support the company's continued development."
Financial Performance and Challenges
Flying Tiger's UK sales rose 22% to £70.1 million in 2024, with pre-tax profits of £2.6 million, but debts exceeded £35 million. The discount retail sector faces pressure from inflation on goods, business rates, labour, and energy costs, as well as reduced consumer spending on non-essentials. Competition from rivals like B&M, Home Bargains, Savers, Miniso, and The Entertainer is intense.
Poundland closed 149 stores with 2,200 job losses earlier this year, Wilko collapsed in 2023, and Dutch rival Hema exited the UK in 2021. Flying Tiger's parent company, Zebra, once opened one or two shops weekly worldwide, including in the US. The first UK store opened in Basingstoke in 2005, but the brand originated in the 1980s when founders Lennart and Suz Lajboschitz sold umbrellas at a Copenhagen market.
