Dixons continues ops trim with £14m sale of Swedish brand

Retail giant announces second disposal in six weeks by selling Webhallen to Norwegian outfit Komplett

Dixons Retail has continued to trim its non-core operations with a £14m deal to sell off Swedish brand Webhallen.

The Solna-headquartered outfit had operated as a subsidiary of Dixons' Pixmania e-tail brand and runs 10 stores across Sweden, as well as online sales. Webhallen focuses on sales games, media and related wares. It has been bought by Norwegian online retailer Komplett in a cash deal worth SEK140m (£13.9m). The sale is expected to close by the end of next month.

Ole Vinje, chief executive of Komplett, said: "We are very pleased that Webhallen will be joining the Komplett Group. This acquisition will further strengthen our position in Sweden and Scandinavia. We find Webhallen's multi-channel strategy very interesting with a view to further development."

The deal is Dixons' second disposal in as many months, following the deal to sell B2B player Equanet to Kelway that was announced last month. Today's announcement demonstrates the retail giant's desire "to refocus its Pixmania business on its key strengths [and put] it on a firmer strategic footing", according to today's stock market announcement.

Sebastian James, chief executive of Dixons Retail, said: "We continue to explore ways to put Pixmania in a better strategic position. Following a material reorganisation of the business earlier this year, I am pleased that we can confirm another small but significant step in that process today with the disposal of the Webhallen operation in Sweden."