Modella Capital is poised to snap up Flying Tiger Copenhagen in the private equity firm’s latest swoop on the British high street. 

The private equity firm is close to reaching an agreement with Danske Bank and Nordea, the owners of Flying Tiger, with a deal set to be announced imminently. 

Modella bought Claire’s Accessories before shortly pushing it into administration and its empire of former WH Smith stores are on the brink of a drastic restructuring.

Flying Tiger, the firm’s latest high street acquisition, operates around 900 stores across the world including 80 in the UK. 

The retailer is known for its quirky homeware and cheap stationery and its maze-like store layout is similar to that of Scandinavian neighbour Ikea. 

Flying Tiger to expand Modella’s reach

The deal, first reported by The Times, would see Modella expand its international reach, with the retailer running its own stores in 30 European markets and having franchises in the Philippines, Vietnam and Israel.

Flying Tiger reported turnover of more than 5.2bn Danish krone (£600m) in 2024 and employs thousands of people worldwide.

The firm underwent a restructuring in early 2025 which put its control into the hands of a coalition led by former chief executive Martin Jermiin, finance chief Christian Kofoed Hertz Jakobsen and the banks Danske Bank and Nordea.

Flying Tiger is now led by Jens Aarup Mikkelsen as chief executive, and financial advisers have been exploring a potential sale since the start of this year.

The retailers’ first store was opened in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1995 but it traces its history back to founders Lennart and Suzanne Lajboschitz’s umbrella-selling business in the 1980s.

Modella Capital has snapped up a string of high street retailers in recent years, and has ended up offloading several soon after purchase.

Former WH Smith stores face closure

The firm blamed weak consumer confidence and “adverse government fiscal policies” for its move to wind down Original Factory Shop and Claire’s Accessories soon after buying the firms.

Modella bought WH Smith’s 480 high street stores for £40m last year – and renamed them under the TG Jones brand – but is preparing to shut as many as a quarter of these sites in an aggressive overhaul of the business.

The owner claims this move is necessary to save the retailer from bankruptcy, but it has emerged that Modella is charging TG Jones millions of pounds for the use of its fictitious brand name.

Modella was formed as Tailer Debtco in 2022 before being renamed to Modella a year later, and is owned by Hay Wain Group, the family office founded by turnaround specialist Jamie Constable.

Modella’s chairman is Steve Curtis, a well-known investor in the retail sector, and its managing director is Joseph Price.