Poundland-owner Pepco's revenue jumps in Christmas quarter

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Pepco Group, the owner of British discount retailer Poundland, on Wednesday reported rising revenue in the Christmas quarter and forecast more growth in the balance of its 2019-20 financial year.

Pepco Group, which also owns the PEPCO and Dealz brands in Europe, is part of troubled South African conglomerate Steinhoff , which has been battling the fallout from a 2017 accounting scandal.

Steinhoff said last year it was evaluating a range of strategic options for Pepco Group, including a potential public listing.

However, Sky News reported on Monday that three private equity firms - Advent International, Hellman & Friedman and Mid Europa Partners - have teamed up to plot a possible bid for Pepco Group that could value it at more than 4.5 billion euros ($5 billion).

Pepco Group said its revenue in its fiscal first quarter to end-December rose 13.3% to 1.143 billion euros.

The revenue growth reflected a 14.8% increase in stores to 2,809, along with an increase in like-for-like revenue of 3.9%.

($1 = 0.9060 euros) (Reporting by James Davey, editing by Louise Heavens)