Reports in the Independent newspaper that KPMG has been brought in to sell Vivid Imaginations is “pure speculation” according to Vivid CEO, Paul Weston.

Vivid was backed by Phoenix Equity Partners and Royal Bank of Scotland since 2002 when it backed a management buyout to the tune of £62m. Now, the Independent claims that the investors want to sell up

“Neither Vivid or Phoenix have had discussions with the journalist or the newspaper and the report is highly speculative,” Weston told Toy World.

“Inevitably, when you’re in a partnership with a private equity company like Phoenix, at some point there will be talk of an exit – that’s a normal course of events,” he added. “You do get speculation but I can categorically state that there has been no pressure put on Vivid to sell.

“We’ve had a long-standing relationship with Phoenix for over nine years and at some point plans will be made for them to exit. But at the moment there is nothing to report and if and when there is, we will let our key partners know.

“Obviously Vivid is doing very well and we have a number of high profile properties in our portfolio like Moshi and The Hobbit and that leads people to speculate. It’s not the first time it’s happened and it probably won’t be the last but I can assure everyone no discussions have taken place.”