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The Barclay family is set to lose control of another part of their former business empire with a US private equity firm taking control of online retailer the Very Group.
Washington-headquartered Carlyle Group is expected to announce it has taken over the retailer as soon as Monday morning.
The change of control will bring to an end more than 20 years under the ownership of the Barclay family, which has been forced to give up a series of businesses – including the Telegraph newspaper, London’s Ritz hotel, and delivery company Yodel – that made them into billionaires, and one of the richest families in Britain.
The Very Group’s board, chaired by former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, met on Sunday to confirm the change of ownership, according to Sky News, which first reported the move.
The Barclay family, led by identical twins David and Frederick, had owned Very since buying it in 2002 – when it was a catalogue retailer known as Littlewoods – for £750m. That business merged with Shop Direct in 2004. David Barclay died in 2021.
However, the Barclay family’s fortunes appear to have worsened in recent years. They lost control of the Telegraph newspapers after the family struggled to repay large loans.
Carlyle first became a lender to the Very Group in 2021 with a loan of undisclosed size. The investor followed that up in 2024 with about £85m out of a £125m debt package. Carlyle’s total financing to the business is thought to be more than £500m.
Abu Dhabi-based investment fund International Media Investments (IMI), which also lent to Very, is expected to remain a lender.
Very itself is not thought to be struggling financially. The retailer last month reported increased profitability, with £307m in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in the year to 28 June. It made sales of £2.1bn in the year.
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The Very Group and Carlyle both declined to comment.
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When a Gen Z Redditor asked Millennials how they survived the recession in their 20s, the responses painted a stark picture of economic desperation that feels eerily relevant as today’s young workers face what some are calling the “AI takeover” of entry-level jobs.
The discussion on r/Millennials revealed survival strategies that ranged from pragmatic to desperate, offering a roadmap for navigating economic chaos that Gen Z might need sooner than anyone wants to admit.
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According to posters on the thread, the most common survival tactic during the Great Recession was simply avoiding the job market entirely. Millennials flooded back into graduate schools and community colleges, waiting out the economic storm while racking up student loan debt that many are still paying off today.
“Ride out the recession in academia” was the prevailing wisdom, though this strategy came with its own long-term consequences. The generation ended up with more advanced degrees than any before it, but also unprecedented debt burdens that delayed homeownership and family formation for years.
For those who couldn’t afford more school, the options were grimmer. Many moved back in with parents, sometimes for years, while working multiple low-wage jobs. One poster noted the phenomenon of experienced, laid-off professionals competing with new graduates for entry-level positions, creating what they described as a “massive wage suppression event” that set careers back by years.
Some chose to leave the country entirely, with teaching English in South Korea, Japan, or Taiwan becoming a popular escape route from the devastated domestic job market.
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The Reddit thread didn’t shy away from the darker realities. Multiple posters reported surviving on Top Ramen and fast-food dollar menus, which at least remained affordable during that era. Others described “flirting with homelessness and hunger,” relying on food banks, or resorting to illegal work to stay afloat.
The mental health toll was severe, with references to “deaths of despair” and heavy substance use as coping mechanisms. Yet the experience also fostered unexpected resilience and community, with many Millennials forming tight-knit “tribes” of friends who supported each other through the crisis.
For the lucky few who maintained stable employment, the housing collapse presented a silver lining. Some were able to purchase homes for “dirt cheap” in 2009, using federal programs like the $8,000 housing credit, building wealth that has compounded significantly over the past 16 years.
When comparing 2008 to today’s economy, posters agreed on one chilling point: Gen Z faces challenges that are arguably more severe.
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Food and housing costs that remained relatively affordable during the Great Recession are now “insane,” according to multiple posters. But the real terror is something Millennials never confronted: the threat of artificial intelligence eliminating entry-level white-collar jobs entirely.
“The AI takeover of entry level white collar jobs” represents an existential threat that goes beyond cyclical economic downturns. Unlike the 2008 crisis, which eventually resolved as markets recovered, AI-driven job displacement could be permanent for certain career paths.
The prevailing sentiment from those who lived through 2008? Lower your expectations dramatically. Forget rigid career timelines and traditional measures of success. Focus on basic survival first.
As one Redditor summarized the generation’s experience: “Surviving, not thriving” became the Millennial anthem. For Gen Z staring down both economic uncertainty and technological disruption, that same mantra might be the most honest advice available.
The message is clear: build your tribe, stay flexible, take any job that pays the bills, and remember that the goal isn’t to win during a recession—it’s simply to still be standing when it’s over.
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This article Millennials Who Survived 2008 Have Brutal Advice for Gen Z Facing The ‘AI Recession’—And It’s Not Pretty originally appeared on Benzinga.com
