by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has announced the acquisition of a number of high-end fashion brands in which JD Sports Fashion has stakes.
The company bought 15 of the group’s retailers via shares held by JD, with all debt to be transferred to Frasers Group subsidiaries.
The brands included in the agreement are Tessuti, Base Childrenswear, Missy Empire, Choice, Clothingsites, Cricket, Giulio, Kids Cavern, Nicholas Deakins, Pretty Green, Prevu Studio, Rascal Clothing, Scotts, Watch Shop and Topgrade Sportswear.
In a regulatory filing, Frasers said the amount to be paid for the acquisition of the shares and debt is £47.5 million, which will be funded from the group’s existing cash resources.
Completion of the acquisition of several of the remaining businesses, such as Tessuti and Rascal Clothing, is expected to take place in early 2023.
It comes as Frasers Group continues to broaden its portfolio towards a more upscale positioning, a strategy the company has increasingly focused on since the appointment of new CEO Michael Murray.
The group has made a slew of acquisitions over the past year, including takeovers of Missguided, Studio Retail and I Saw It First, as well as a series of stake increases in companies like Hugo Boss and N Brown .
JD Sports focuses on its sports portfolio
Its latest acquisition follows the implementation of a strategic review by JD Sports Group CEO Regis Schultz, who initially said he was leading the process with the aim of focusing more on opportunities in the rest of the world. band.
In a statement, Schultz said: “JD is rightly recognized for its laser-focused customer focus and we believe that the most significant opportunities lie in the continued international development of the group’s global sports fashion business.
“We are pleased to have agreed to the sale of these attractive, but non-essential brands, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of the colleagues from the businesses that are part of the transaction for their hard work and contribution to the group at course of the year.”
JD is now poised to turn its full attention to the international and digital expansion of its major high-end sports fashion labels, which include JD Sports itself, as well as Size?, Foot Patrol and Shoe Palace, among others.
According to the group, the disposal will result in an exceptional non-cash charge in its annual accounts for the period until January 28, 2023 of approximately 100 million pounds.
