Reliance Industries has applied to remove its UK subsidiary Hamleys (Franchising) Ltd from the companies register by voluntary strike-off, according to a regulatory filing made on 29 October 2026. The entity reported turnover of Rs 56.08 crore for 2025 and a net worth of nil at 31 December 2025. Reliance has not given a reason for the application.
The Registrar of Companies published the first gazette notice on 27 October 2026. Reliance received notice of it on 28 October and disclosed it the next day under Regulation 30 of India’s SEBI listing regulations. Hamleys (Franchising) Ltd is a step-down subsidiary, meaning it sits below another Reliance company in the group structure rather than being held directly by Reliance Industries.
The disclosure covers that single entity and not the Hamleys toy retail business as a whole, a corporate structure unlike the single operating companies behind most brands in the UK franchise directory.
What the filing discloses
Reliance said the subsidiary would be struck off and dissolved no earlier than two months from the date of the notice, unless an objection is raised. The entity’s turnover for calendar year 2025 was Rs 56.08 crore (560.8 million Indian rupees, as published by Reliance). That amounted to 0.0048% of Reliance’s consolidated turnover for the 2025/26 financial year. Its net worth at 31 December 2025 was nil. Reliance did not explain why the application was made, and the filing gives no detail on the entity’s activities.
How a voluntary strike-off works
A voluntary strike-off lets an eligible company ask to be removed from the register, which ends its legal existence. The process starts with a public notice, which gives creditors and other interested parties an opportunity to object. If no valid objection or other impediment arises, the company can be dissolved after the prescribed period, which is at least two months. The first notice in this case was published on 27 October, so the earliest dissolution date is in late December 2026.
Strike-off is not an insolvency procedure
A voluntary strike-off removes a company from the register at its own request. It is separate from administration, liquidation or a company voluntary arrangement, which are insolvency procedures, and nothing in the reported filing describes one.
What the filing does not say
The entity’s name refers to franchising, but the reported filing does not describe what it did, and this article does not characterise Hamleys’ own model in the UK. Abhishek Trivedi, writing for IBTimes India, framed the move as “a corporate development involving a specific subsidiary” rather than a wider change to the Hamleys business. The reported filing announces no change to Hamleys shops or to other group companies.
What comes next
The notice period runs for at least two months from 27 October. If no objection is lodged in that time, the entity can be struck off at the end of it. Reliance has not published a timetable beyond the two-month minimum, and it has announced no further disclosure on the reason or on the entity’s activities.
