Nokia to flog Vertu
 

Troubled former rubber boot maker Nokia has decided that there is no dosh in making fancy phones for people with more money than sense.

Its subsidiary Vertu has been flogging phones to millionaires who want to show off their wealth by having a device with shedloads of bling slapped around it.

According to the Financial Times, Nokia has appointed Goldman Sachs to oversee the sale of its UK subsidiary, but talks are still at an early stage.

Vertu, which makes luxury handmade phones, has yet to be given a value, although annual revenue is estimated to be between $268 million and $402 million.

Although we taketh the piss a bit, the company is a bit of a money spinner for Nokia and given the fact that it is short of a bob or two it's not clear why it wants to get rid of it. Selling the family silver makes sense, but a couple of the phones themselves will probably collect a few thousand.

Vertu has attracted interest from private equity groups, according to one person in the know cited by the FT.

Vertu is also likely to attract attention from luxury goods brands, because its customer base is fairly exclusive and they can hit them with other tid-bits for the well-healed such as otter spleen crisps and panda brain pâté.

Nokia and Goldman are not commenting.

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