Buy low, sell high. The most basic rule of business may be about to net John Hargreaves, founder and majority shareholder of UK retailer Matalan, a big windfall. Potential buyers, including private equity house CVC Capital Partners, are sniffing round the discount store chain. If a mooted £1.5bn price is realised, it would represent a remarkable result for a business taken private three years ago for £817m in a deal led by Mr Hargreaves.

It may be difficult to know why he now wishes to sell. Harder still is why now is a good time to buy. On the face of it, Matalan has an ideal profile for a buy-out. An established and growing company, annual operating profit grew 14 per cent in the year to February, to £102m, while like-for-like sales to June bounced about 8 per cent. CVC also has retail experience with Debenhams in the UK and Cortefiel in Spain.