Debenhams delisted from the London Stock Exchange last December, following the trend set by BHS, Selfridges and Arcadia. It was bought by Baroness Retail, a consortium that includes the private-equity groups CVC Capital, Texas Pacific and Merrill Lynch PE. Baroness trumped an offer from Permira and paid £1,700m for the 104 stores. Since the buyout, Debenhams has announced 200 job cuts in a bid to reduce borrowings but reported operating profits of £176m on sales of £1,810m in 2003.