Wolseley/Stark sells Silvan to financial investor Aurelius

The Danish DIY chain Silvan has been sold to German investment company Aurelius. It belonged previously to the Stark Group, a subsidiary of the British building materials group Wolseley. According to a press release by Aurelius, Silvan accounted for nine per cent of the Stark Group's overall sales amounting to EUR 2.5 bn. Silvan operates 42 DIY stores and an online Shop in Denmark.  The Silvan outlets are in good strategic locations, according to Aurelius, close to big cities. Apart from DIY ranges and building materials, they also sell garden products.
Silvan will concentrate more in future on profiting from the growing DIY market in Denmark, expanding its online business further and making it more professional. "Our task force will support the company and its management in a fast carve-out and help to introduce modern retail standards at Silvan," says Donatus Albrecht, a board member of Aurelius Equity Opportunities.
Hitherto Aurelius's retail portfolio has comprised the office supplies business Office Depot and multichannel retail group Calumet Photographic. Another connection with the retail sector is constituted by the group company Conaxess Trade, a wholesaler of fast-moving consumer goods in large-format retailing. The head of the supervisory board is former Bertelsmann board chairman Mark Wössner.