The private equity backers of Debenhams, the British department store group, are considering floating the group in the last quarter of this year and are currently examining the viability of an initial public offering. “We want the flexibility. The IPO window opens and shuts and we want to be in a position to float when the market allows,” one of the owners told the FT.

The group, which declined to comment, has recenly completed a £2 billion refinancing. The Debenhams group is now valued at about £2.1 billion. The group’s owners, Texas Pacific, CVC Capital and Merrill Lynch Private Equity acquired the group in 2003 for £1.9 billion and have since received capital repayments of about £1.2 billion from Debenhams, twice their combined equity investment of £600 million. Debenhams is the UK ‘s second largest department store group. Chairman John Lovering, chief executive Rob Templeman and executive director Chris Woodhouse have worked together on a number of successful buy-outs, which include Homebase, Halfords and Odeon Cinemas.

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Although the market is currently volatile due to weak performance on the high street, Debenhams has proved to be one of the high street’s best performers. In the six months ended February, like-for-like sales rose 4.2 percent. CEO Templeman has indicated that the group has generated so much cash that it could easily undergo another refinancing, making that the third since the group was purchased in 2003. With the news that CVC Capital had closed Europe ‘s biggest buy-out fund at €6 billion last Friday, news of a possible IPO for Debenhams also emerged. CVC chairman Michael Smith would not, however, reveal information about the timing of a potential IPO.