Value retailer The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) has been acquired by specialist retail and consumer investment boutique Modella Capital.

It will join 119-store retailer Hobbycraft in the private equity firm’s stable of brands after Modella made a “last minute bid” for the discount chain last week, Retail Gazette reported.

It secured the winning bid after talks between TFOS’ parent company Duke Street and In The Style owner Baaj Capital ended in stalemate.

Variety retailer TFOS operates 180 UK stores, employing 1,800, stocking a wide range of products, from a host of major brands including Calvin Klein, Adidas and L’Oréal and as well as furnishings, DIY and gifting.

In recent years its financial position has become more precarious, particularly for the year to 26 March 2023 (its most recent earnings filing), when it swung to a pre-tax loss of £1.7 million, while sales fell 4% to £118 million.

Fellow private equity firm Duke Street, which has operated TFOS since 2007, had been mulling a sale of the business more recently, eventually appointing advisors at Teneo to oversee an official sales process in December. It previously worked with Deloitte in 2023 to explore a sale.

Modella Capital has yet to comment.