PRG checks out options

Eric Watson's Pacific Retail Group has appointed investment bank Macquarie to look at options for the company's consumer finance business, including an initial public offering of shares on the stock exchange.

The Business Herald was told the investment bank's scoping study would be "broader than just looking at an IPO". Pacific Retail wants the study to be completed by the end of this month and acted upon in the second quarter.

Pacific Retail flagged the possibility of a sharemarket listing in December, saying that it would retain a majority stake. But those close to the exercise are now less emphatic that there will be a float - with talk of "other options that might achieve a similar result".

London-based entrepreneur Watson owns 81.4 per cent of Pacific Retail and institutional investor AXA owns 11 per cent.

In December, the company said an IPO would reflect "the standing of the finance group as a substantial business in its own right".

The finance arm was then said to be on track for $28 million to $30 million of pre-tax profit for the year to March 31. It has more than 200,000 customers.

Pacific Retail's main other businesses are British appliance retailer PowerHouse and lingerie company Bendon. The finance group is made up of three subsidiaries: Pacific Retail Finance, Pacific Retail Services and Montreal Financial Services.