Reliance's UK Hamleys Franchising Arm Set To Be Struck Off Register

Reliance Industries Ltd. said a UK-based step-down subsidiary, Hamleys (Franchising) Ltd., is on track to be dissolved after the Registrar of Companies in the United Kingdom published a gazette notice on the unit's application for voluntary strike off.

Under the notice, HFL will be removed from the register and dissolved unless cause is shown against it. This can happen no sooner than two months from Oct. 27, 2026, which means the earliest the company can be dissolved is late December. Reliance disclosed this in an exchange filing on Thursday.

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In the UK, a voluntary strike off is the route a company takes to close itself down. The gazette notice gives creditors and other interested parties a window to object before the company is formally dissolved.

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The franchising entity is a small part of the conglomerate. HFL reported a turnover of Rs 56.08 crore for calendar year 2025. That was 0.0048% of Reliance's consolidated turnover for the financial year 2025-26, a negligible share for a group whose businesses span energy, retail and telecom. The unit had nil net worth as of Dec. 31, 2025, the filing showed.

Reliance said it received the intimation at 3:11 p.m. on Oct. 28. The company made the disclosure under Regulation 30 of SEBI's listing rules, which require listed companies to inform stock exchanges of material events.

Hamleys came into the Reliance fold in 2019. That year Reliance Brands Ltd., the group's fashion and lifestyle arm, agreed to buy all of Hamleys Global Holdings Ltd. from Hong Kong-based C Banner International Holdings. The all-cash deal was valued at £67.96 million. It was announced in May that year and completed in July.

Hamleys was founded in London in 1760 and is one of the world's oldest toy retailers. It is best known for its multi-storey flagship store on London's Regent Street.

The filing relates only to the franchising entity. Reliance did not say why the unit is being closed, and it did not indicate any change to the wider Hamleys business.

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