Carphone Warehouse to split into two companies

Carphone Warehouse has confirmed plans to split its business into two separate companies, separating its retail and telecoms interests.

The board had decided shareholders would be best served by demerging the business into two separately-listed companies, according to comments made in a statement by Carphone Warehouse's chief executive Charles Dunstone.

Its TalkTalk arm first came to prominence when it launched the first free' broadband deal in the UK in November 2006.

There is no timeframe for the Carphone Warehouse split will be complete, but Dunstone said that the operational separation of the businesses had already been achieved.

He said of Carphone Warehouse in the future: "The macro environment will undoubtedly present challenges in the year ahead but at this stage we are not seeing it deteriorate further.

"We are well funded, and have clear and simple strategies for our two businesses which balance growth with tight operational efficiency and cash generation."