Hamleys, the world’s oldest toy shop, has been sold to Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, in a deal worth almost £70m.
Mr Ambani’s Reliance Industries bought the famous London retailer from Hong-Kong based fashion conglomerate C Banner International.
Founded in 1760 and famed for its flagship seven-storey shop on Regent Street, Hamley’s has now had four owners since being bought off the stock exchange in 2003.
Defunct Icelandic investment group Baugur took Hamley’s private before the toy store was bought by France’s Ludendo Groupe and then sold on again to its erstwhile Chinese owners.
Each buyer has struggled to turn Hamleys into a global brand with most success coming in India where 88 of the franchise’s 167 stores are located.
1/50 9 May 2019
Will Smith attending the Aladdin European Premiere held at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London
PA
2/50 8 May 2019
Tributes laid around the Billy McNeill statue at Celtic Park ahead of ex-player Stevie Chalmers’ funeral
PA
3/50 7 May 2019
A Tyrannosaurus animatronic model is wheeled through Chester Zoo after arriving from America. It is one of thirteen enormous animatronic predators which have been created for Chester zoo in Texas, ahead of the opening of a world first exhibition into 200 million years of lost species
PA
4/50 6 May 2019
Norwich City’s Grant Hanley holds the Championship trophy aloft as he celebrates with the crowd during their promotion parade in Norwich City Centre
PA
5/50 5 May 2019
Team Ineos lead the peloton including leader Chris Lawless as they climb a hill in Haworth, during stage four of the Tour de Yorkshire
PA
6/50 4 May 2019
Waves crash over the sea wall at Tynemouth in the north east of England. The UK is expected to be hit with cold showers, frost and strong winds across the bank holiday weekend just weeks after record-high temperatures at Easter.
PA
7/50 3 May 2019
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable addresses the media with activists outside Chelmsford City Council Civic Centre. In local election results, the Liberal Democrats – who oppose Brexit, gained 26 seats giving them control of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, a Brexit stronghold. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, lost seats. This is believed to be attributed to frustration at the lack of progress in the continuing Brexit negotiations
Getty
8/50 2 May 2019
Whipsnade Zoo’s new baby giraffe, Khari, with his mother Luna. The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was born to first time mum Luna and dad Bashu at midday on April 26, and his name, Khari, means ‘King-like’ in Swahili, because of his regal-looking ossicones – the tiny crown-like horns on a giraffe’s head. Giraffe calves weigh more than the twenty times the average 7lbs human when they’re born, weighing in at around 150lbs at birth
Whipsnade Zoo/PA
9/50 1 May 2019
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London. He was sentenced to 50 week in prison for breaching his bail conditions. Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act in April after his arrest after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
EPA
10/50 30 April 2019
Coco, aged 11, runs through 181 pairs of wellies, as they go on display to represent the average number of people rescued by The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) every week in the UK and Ireland at Potters Fields Park in London. There are 4,900 volunteer crew members supporting 238 lifeboat stations. RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign aims to raise £700,000 to fund lifesaving kit. Following the campaign, the yellow wellies from the installation will be available to purchase, in exchange for a small donation
PA
11/50 29 April 2019
Buster the Golden Retriever, belonging to David Torrance MSP, at this year’s Holyrood Dog of the Year competition, organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club at the Scottish Parliament Gardens in Edinburgh.
PA
12/50 28 April 2019
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk poses with his PFA Player of the Year award
PA
13/50 27 April 2019
Cyclists lay down as they take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest at the Tate Modern in London, Britain
REUTERS
14/50 26 April 2019
Liberal Democratic Party leader Vince Cable speaks at a launch event for the party’s candidates for the European Parliament election in London
AFP/Getty
15/50 25 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion protesters (left to right) Alan Heath, 55, research scientist, Jen Witts, 38, support worker for vulnerable people, Sian Vaughan 53, retired head teacher, Debbie Rees, 57, Gardener and artist, Kef Shimidzu, 55, tutor and learning support worker, Lucy Galvin, 53, civil servant and Johnny Woon, 60, retired, glued themselves to the entrances of the London Stock Exchange in the City of London
PA
16/50 24 April 2019
Engineers from the Canal and River Trust repair a leak at the base of a deep 200 year old, Grade II listed lock in Gloucester, where the tidal River Severn meets Gloucester Docks in the city and a specially manufactured steel dam is now holding back the river water, with more than 100 tonnes of accumulated silt being removed from the damaged area of the lock so that the team can undertake repairs
PA
17/50 23 April 2019
Amateur James Cahill celebrates beating snooker world number one, Ronnie O’Sullivan, in the first round of the World Championship. In arguably the biggest shock in the tournament’s history, Cahill held his nerve to beat five-time champion O’Sullivan 10-8 at the Crucible
PA
18/50 22 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion climate change activists perform a mass “die in” under the blue whale in the foyer of the Natural History Museum in London, on the eighth day of the environmental group’s protest calling for political change to combat climate change. Some 963 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing protests
AFP/Getty
19/50 21 April 2019
Firefighters tackle a large fire on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire
PA
20/50 20 April 2019
Police officers remove a potted plant that was placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge in London by Extinction Rebellion protesters
EPA
21/50 19 April 2019
British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat to climate change activists occupying the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protests by the Extinction Rebellion group
AFP/Getty
22/50 18 April 2019
A burning car in Creggan, Londonderry after petrol bombs were thrown at police. Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee was killed during the riots. Police Service of Northern Ireland said that McKee was allegedly shot while reporting on clashes with dissident republican rioters
PA
23/50 17 April 2019
Members of the so called ‘Red Brigade’ march in disobedience on the street from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus to protest in London. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change
AP
24/50 16 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion demonstrators camp near Marble Arch, London, as more than 100 people have been arrested as police deal with ongoing climate change protests
PA
25/50 15 April 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tries his hand at archery during a visit to Sunnyvale Fishery and Outdoor Activity centre, a youth crime reduction project in Calderdale
PA
26/50 14 April 2019
A woman photographs blossoming tulips in Holland Park
PA
27/50 13 April 2019
Lincoln City’s Bruno Andrade (left) and Shay McCartan celebrate being promoted after their Sky Bet League Two match at Sincil Bank, Lincoln
PA
28/50 12 April 2019
Supporters march during the YouthStrike4Climate demonstration in central London
AFP/Getty
29/50 11 April 2019
The Milky Way and millions of stars over Dinstanburgh Castle in the early hours of the morning. Dunstanburgh Castle is a 14th-century fortification on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313 and 1322
PA
30/50 10 April 2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May react during an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels
Reuters
31/50 9 April 2019
England’s Ellen White celebrates after her side go 1-0 up against Spain during their friendly match at the Energy Check County Ground, Swindon. The Lionesses went on to win 2-1
PA
32/50 8 April 2019
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and fellow Labour MPs welcome the newly elected MP for Newport West, Ruth Jones (right), to the Houses of Parliament
PA
33/50 7 April 2019
James Cracknell celebrates after winning the Men’s Boat Race with Cambridge. Former Olympic and World Champion Cracknell, 46, became the oldest entrant in Boat Race history, qualifying after taking up a Master of Philosophy degree in human evolution
Getty
34/50 6 April 2019
Davy Russell, riding Tiger Roll, celebrates winning the Random Health Grand National at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool. He became the first horse since Red Rum to win back-to-back renewals
EPA
35/50 5 April 2019
Activists in hazmat suits and masks stop traffic in west London in a protest accusing authorities of lying after cancer-causing chemicals were found in soil close to Grenfell Tower
PA
36/50 4 April 2019
England football manager Gareth Southgate with the OBE that he received at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London
PA
37/50 3 April 2019
Newborn lambs in a snow covered field near Allendale, Northumberland, after temperatures dipped below freezing overnight. Hill snow, sleet, showers and gales are expected for parts of the UK as the chilly snap keeps hold.
PA
38/50 2 April 2019
Armathwaite Hall hotel in Keswick, Cumbria holds Lemoga classes with the lemurs from Lake District Wild Life Park, who were mingling with the class to create a personal yoga experience which aims to heighten the sense of wellbeing for both lemur and human. With their friendly, outgoing personalities and love for human contact, lemurs make the perfect yoga buddies, helping people to laugh, unwind and stretch away their troubles
PA
39/50 1 April 2019
Fire fighters attend to two police cars that were destroyed after being set on fire outside Goldthorpe police station in South Yorkshire in a suspected arson attack
PA
40/50 31 March 2019
Forensics teams work at the scene of a stabbing in Edmonton in London. Four people have been stabbed in a spate of knife attacks in the north of the capital over the weekend
Getty
41/50 30 March 2019
Workers from the Honda plant in Swindon during a protest march through the town as the car giant will be urged to reverse its decision to close its UK plant
Unite South West/PA
42/50 29 March 2019
Pro-Brexit protesters outside Westminster as MPs voted on a Government motion on the EU withdrawal
PA
43/50 28 March 2019
England football captain Harry Kane is made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by the Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace
PA
44/50 27 March 2019
Gallery staff give a final dusting to the ‘Olympe’ sculpture by Aspencrow, modelled on Cara Delevingne and an interpretation of Medusa, as it is unveiled at the JD Malay Gallery in Mayfair, London
PA
45/50 26 March 2019
PD Marci with handler PC Neil Billany, PD Kai with handler PC Jean Pearce, PD Bruno with handler Rob Smith, PD Delta with handler PC Mark Snoxhall, PDSA vet Rosamund Ford, and PD Dave with handler PC Andy Salter at Borough market in London where the dogs were honoured with the PDSA Order of Merit for helping emergency services during the 2017 London terror attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Borough Market
PA
46/50 25 March 2019
Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox arrives in Downing street, London for a cabinet meeting. British Prime Minister Theresa May will today chair a potentially volatile meeting of her cabinet amid reports of an attempted coup by colleagues over her handling of Brexit.
AFP/Getty
47/50 24 March 2019
Workers peeling off stickers left on the Cabinet Office door on Whitehall, London, left by anti-Brexit campaigners after they took part in the People’s Vote March
PA
48/50 23 March 2019
Protesters take part in the Put It To The People March on Whitehall in London. Thousands of protesters gathered for the march from Park Lane to Parliament Square calling for a public vote on the Governments final Brexit deal
Getty
49/50 22 March 2019
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a news briefing after meeting with EU leaders in Brussels
Reuters
50/50 21 March 2019
The mosque and community centre on Albert Road in Birmingham where a police forensic team are at work after it had its windows smashed with a sledgehammer. An investigation involving counter-terrorism officers has been launched after four mosques in the Birmingham area were attacked overnight
PA
1/50 9 May 2019
Will Smith attending the Aladdin European Premiere held at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London
PA
2/50 8 May 2019
Tributes laid around the Billy McNeill statue at Celtic Park ahead of ex-player Stevie Chalmers’ funeral
PA
3/50 7 May 2019
A Tyrannosaurus animatronic model is wheeled through Chester Zoo after arriving from America. It is one of thirteen enormous animatronic predators which have been created for Chester zoo in Texas, ahead of the opening of a world first exhibition into 200 million years of lost species
PA
4/50 6 May 2019
Norwich City’s Grant Hanley holds the Championship trophy aloft as he celebrates with the crowd during their promotion parade in Norwich City Centre
PA
5/50 5 May 2019
Team Ineos lead the peloton including leader Chris Lawless as they climb a hill in Haworth, during stage four of the Tour de Yorkshire
PA
6/50 4 May 2019
Waves crash over the sea wall at Tynemouth in the north east of England. The UK is expected to be hit with cold showers, frost and strong winds across the bank holiday weekend just weeks after record-high temperatures at Easter.
PA
7/50 3 May 2019
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable addresses the media with activists outside Chelmsford City Council Civic Centre. In local election results, the Liberal Democrats – who oppose Brexit, gained 26 seats giving them control of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, a Brexit stronghold. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, lost seats. This is believed to be attributed to frustration at the lack of progress in the continuing Brexit negotiations
Getty
8/50 2 May 2019
Whipsnade Zoo’s new baby giraffe, Khari, with his mother Luna. The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was born to first time mum Luna and dad Bashu at midday on April 26, and his name, Khari, means ‘King-like’ in Swahili, because of his regal-looking ossicones – the tiny crown-like horns on a giraffe’s head. Giraffe calves weigh more than the twenty times the average 7lbs human when they’re born, weighing in at around 150lbs at birth
Whipsnade Zoo/PA
9/50 1 May 2019
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London. He was sentenced to 50 week in prison for breaching his bail conditions. Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act in April after his arrest after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
EPA
10/50 30 April 2019
Coco, aged 11, runs through 181 pairs of wellies, as they go on display to represent the average number of people rescued by The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) every week in the UK and Ireland at Potters Fields Park in London. There are 4,900 volunteer crew members supporting 238 lifeboat stations. RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign aims to raise £700,000 to fund lifesaving kit. Following the campaign, the yellow wellies from the installation will be available to purchase, in exchange for a small donation
PA
11/50 29 April 2019
Buster the Golden Retriever, belonging to David Torrance MSP, at this year’s Holyrood Dog of the Year competition, organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club at the Scottish Parliament Gardens in Edinburgh.
PA
12/50 28 April 2019
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk poses with his PFA Player of the Year award
PA
13/50 27 April 2019
Cyclists lay down as they take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest at the Tate Modern in London, Britain
REUTERS
14/50 26 April 2019
Liberal Democratic Party leader Vince Cable speaks at a launch event for the party’s candidates for the European Parliament election in London
AFP/Getty
15/50 25 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion protesters (left to right) Alan Heath, 55, research scientist, Jen Witts, 38, support worker for vulnerable people, Sian Vaughan 53, retired head teacher, Debbie Rees, 57, Gardener and artist, Kef Shimidzu, 55, tutor and learning support worker, Lucy Galvin, 53, civil servant and Johnny Woon, 60, retired, glued themselves to the entrances of the London Stock Exchange in the City of London
PA
16/50 24 April 2019
Engineers from the Canal and River Trust repair a leak at the base of a deep 200 year old, Grade II listed lock in Gloucester, where the tidal River Severn meets Gloucester Docks in the city and a specially manufactured steel dam is now holding back the river water, with more than 100 tonnes of accumulated silt being removed from the damaged area of the lock so that the team can undertake repairs
PA
17/50 23 April 2019
Amateur James Cahill celebrates beating snooker world number one, Ronnie O’Sullivan, in the first round of the World Championship. In arguably the biggest shock in the tournament’s history, Cahill held his nerve to beat five-time champion O’Sullivan 10-8 at the Crucible
PA
18/50 22 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion climate change activists perform a mass “die in” under the blue whale in the foyer of the Natural History Museum in London, on the eighth day of the environmental group’s protest calling for political change to combat climate change. Some 963 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing protests
AFP/Getty
19/50 21 April 2019
Firefighters tackle a large fire on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire
PA
20/50 20 April 2019
Police officers remove a potted plant that was placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge in London by Extinction Rebellion protesters
EPA
21/50 19 April 2019
British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat to climate change activists occupying the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protests by the Extinction Rebellion group
AFP/Getty
22/50 18 April 2019
A burning car in Creggan, Londonderry after petrol bombs were thrown at police. Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee was killed during the riots. Police Service of Northern Ireland said that McKee was allegedly shot while reporting on clashes with dissident republican rioters
PA
23/50 17 April 2019
Members of the so called ‘Red Brigade’ march in disobedience on the street from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus to protest in London. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change
AP
24/50 16 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion demonstrators camp near Marble Arch, London, as more than 100 people have been arrested as police deal with ongoing climate change protests
PA
25/50 15 April 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tries his hand at archery during a visit to Sunnyvale Fishery and Outdoor Activity centre, a youth crime reduction project in Calderdale
PA
26/50 14 April 2019
A woman photographs blossoming tulips in Holland Park
PA
27/50 13 April 2019
Lincoln City’s Bruno Andrade (left) and Shay McCartan celebrate being promoted after their Sky Bet League Two match at Sincil Bank, Lincoln
PA
28/50 12 April 2019
Supporters march during the YouthStrike4Climate demonstration in central London
AFP/Getty
29/50 11 April 2019
The Milky Way and millions of stars over Dinstanburgh Castle in the early hours of the morning. Dunstanburgh Castle is a 14th-century fortification on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313 and 1322
PA
30/50 10 April 2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May react during an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels
Reuters
31/50 9 April 2019
England’s Ellen White celebrates after her side go 1-0 up against Spain during their friendly match at the Energy Check County Ground, Swindon. The Lionesses went on to win 2-1
PA
32/50 8 April 2019
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and fellow Labour MPs welcome the newly elected MP for Newport West, Ruth Jones (right), to the Houses of Parliament
PA
33/50 7 April 2019
James Cracknell celebrates after winning the Men’s Boat Race with Cambridge. Former Olympic and World Champion Cracknell, 46, became the oldest entrant in Boat Race history, qualifying after taking up a Master of Philosophy degree in human evolution
Getty
34/50 6 April 2019
Davy Russell, riding Tiger Roll, celebrates winning the Random Health Grand National at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool. He became the first horse since Red Rum to win back-to-back renewals
EPA
35/50 5 April 2019
Activists in hazmat suits and masks stop traffic in west London in a protest accusing authorities of lying after cancer-causing chemicals were found in soil close to Grenfell Tower
PA
36/50 4 April 2019
England football manager Gareth Southgate with the OBE that he received at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London
PA
37/50 3 April 2019
Newborn lambs in a snow covered field near Allendale, Northumberland, after temperatures dipped below freezing overnight. Hill snow, sleet, showers and gales are expected for parts of the UK as the chilly snap keeps hold.
PA
38/50 2 April 2019
Armathwaite Hall hotel in Keswick, Cumbria holds Lemoga classes with the lemurs from Lake District Wild Life Park, who were mingling with the class to create a personal yoga experience which aims to heighten the sense of wellbeing for both lemur and human. With their friendly, outgoing personalities and love for human contact, lemurs make the perfect yoga buddies, helping people to laugh, unwind and stretch away their troubles
PA
39/50 1 April 2019
Fire fighters attend to two police cars that were destroyed after being set on fire outside Goldthorpe police station in South Yorkshire in a suspected arson attack
PA
40/50 31 March 2019
Forensics teams work at the scene of a stabbing in Edmonton in London. Four people have been stabbed in a spate of knife attacks in the north of the capital over the weekend
Getty
41/50 30 March 2019
Workers from the Honda plant in Swindon during a protest march through the town as the car giant will be urged to reverse its decision to close its UK plant
Unite South West/PA
42/50 29 March 2019
Pro-Brexit protesters outside Westminster as MPs voted on a Government motion on the EU withdrawal
PA
43/50 28 March 2019
England football captain Harry Kane is made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by the Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace
PA
44/50 27 March 2019
Gallery staff give a final dusting to the ‘Olympe’ sculpture by Aspencrow, modelled on Cara Delevingne and an interpretation of Medusa, as it is unveiled at the JD Malay Gallery in Mayfair, London
PA
45/50 26 March 2019
PD Marci with handler PC Neil Billany, PD Kai with handler PC Jean Pearce, PD Bruno with handler Rob Smith, PD Delta with handler PC Mark Snoxhall, PDSA vet Rosamund Ford, and PD Dave with handler PC Andy Salter at Borough market in London where the dogs were honoured with the PDSA Order of Merit for helping emergency services during the 2017 London terror attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Borough Market
PA
46/50 25 March 2019
Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox arrives in Downing street, London for a cabinet meeting. British Prime Minister Theresa May will today chair a potentially volatile meeting of her cabinet amid reports of an attempted coup by colleagues over her handling of Brexit.
AFP/Getty
47/50 24 March 2019
Workers peeling off stickers left on the Cabinet Office door on Whitehall, London, left by anti-Brexit campaigners after they took part in the People’s Vote March
PA
48/50 23 March 2019
Protesters take part in the Put It To The People March on Whitehall in London. Thousands of protesters gathered for the march from Park Lane to Parliament Square calling for a public vote on the Governments final Brexit deal
Getty
49/50 22 March 2019
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after a news briefing after meeting with EU leaders in Brussels
Reuters
50/50 21 March 2019
The mosque and community centre on Albert Road in Birmingham where a police forensic team are at work after it had its windows smashed with a sledgehammer. An investigation involving counter-terrorism officers has been launched after four mosques in the Birmingham area were attacked overnight
PA
Mr Ambani has built up a $50bn fortune through his stake in the family firm Reliance Industries. He and his family live in the world’s most expensive private residence – apart from Buckingham Palace – the 27-storey Antilia tower in Mumbai.
In 2017, Hamleys closed a number of loss-making stores in the UK and Ireland, as it started a restructuring programme after posting a £9.2m pre-tax loss during the year, citing concerns over Brexit.
The deal will make Hamleys Reliance’s first overseas retail brand, expanding its current portfolio which is primarily focused in Indian supermarkets.
President and chief executive of Reliance Brands, Darshan Mehta, said: “This 250-year-old English retailer pioneered the concept of experiential retailing, decades before the concept of creating unique experiences in brick and mortar retailing became the new global norm.
“The worldwide acquisition of the iconic Hamleys brand and business, places Reliance into the frontline of global retail.”
