Management seeks finance to buy out retailer Faith

Private equity firms Endless –which is based in Leeds – and Epic are said to be interested in backing the management buyout, and it is thought a deal could be agreed as soon as this weekend, according to newspaper reports.

Faith, which takes its inspiration for shoes from the catwalks, currently has 78 stores and 120 concessions, mainly in branches of Debenhams, but its parent company FEC Holdings has debts of 14m.

The money is owed to Barclays Bank, the investment fund Agilo and Faith's own management team, including its chief executive John Kinnaird. No one from Faith could be contacted to comment.

The accountancy firm Grant Thornton is said to be running the sale process, with Clearwater Corporate Finance advising Faith.

Mr Kinnaird, who was previously chief executive of shoe chain Dolcis, bought Faith out of administration with the help of Agilo in September 2008, for an undisclosed sum.

The chain had previously been owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, but it collapsed into administration in 2008.

Mr Kinnaird has introduced many changes, including reshaping its portfolio of stores. He also relocated the group's head office to a business park in West London and moved its warehouse operations from the South East to Northampton.

Other measures included setting up a new website.

His actions have paid off, with Faith returning to profit during the year to January 2010, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation totalling 1.5m, compared with a 5.5m loss during the previous 12 months.

Endless already has high street interests; it brought bookseller The Works out of administration in 2008.