Luxury shoes retailer Jimmy Choo puts itself on the market

Jimmy Choo, the luxury brand famed for its skyscraper heels, on Monday put itself up for sale as part of a “strategic review”.

The maker of £2995 Cinderella slippers is inviting offers “to maximise value for its shareholders”.

The shares jumped more than 9%, or 15.89p, to 184.39p, valuing the firm at more than £700 million.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citi are advising the company, which became a household name thanks to Carrie Bradshaw, the shoe-crazy heroine of Nineties TV hit Sex and the City.

The retailer was founded by designer Tamara Mellon and Jimmy Choo, a cobbler from east London, in 1996. It now has 150 shops.

Mellon left in 2011 and the firm floated at 140p a share in October 2014, but has faced a tough time after being hit by factors such as weaker European trading following a spate of terror attacks.

But it has bounced back and benefited from the weaker pound encouraging tourists to London. Sales rose 14.5% to £364 million last year.

Its majority shareholder is JAB Luxury, part of the investment arm of the Reimann family, whose investments include consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser.

JAB has also launched a review of its strategic options relating to its investment in Bally, including a possible sale of the accessories brand.

Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, told the Evening Standard: “The luxury goods market seems in full swing, supported by a strong rebound of Chinese discretionary spend.”