Frasers Group Acquires Multiple Retail Brands from JD Sports for £50m
JD Sports has offloaded 15 retail brands to Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group for an impressive sum of nearly £50m. Frasers Group, the owner of House of Fraser and Sports Direct, has acquired JD Sports’ interests in prominent names such as Base Childrenswear, Choice, Clothingsites (including Brown Bag Clothing), Cricket, Giulio, Kids Cavern, Missy Empire, Nicholas Deakins, Pretty Green, Prevu Studio, Rascal Clothing, Tessuti (including Xile), Scotts, Watch Shop, and Topgrade Sportswear (including Get The Label).
The agreement, valued at up to £47.5m, will be financed through Frasers Group’s existing cash resources. The transactions for Cricket, Tessuti Scotts, Giulio, Choice, Rascal Clothing, and Topgrade Sportswear (including Get The Label) are expected to finalize in early 2023, while the deals for the other businesses have already been completed.
This deal comes in the wake of the departure of two rival business leaders. Mike Ashley, the billionaire former owner of Newcastle United, stepped down as chief executive of Frasers Group earlier this year. Similarly, Peter Cowgill, former executive chairman of JD Sports, recently parted ways with the company following complications with the competition regulator during the planned merger with Footasylum.
JD Sports attributed the divestment of these businesses to a strategic review led by the group’s CEO, Régis Schultz. The company stated that shedding these non-core brands would enable them to focus more diligently on the international and digital expansion of their premium sports fashion fascias.
As a result of these deals, JD Sports anticipates recognizing a non-cash exceptional charge of approximately £100m in its annual accounts for the period ending on January 28, 2023.
Régis Schultz expressed his satisfaction with the sale of these attractive, yet non-core, brands and extended his heartfelt gratitude to all the colleagues involved in the transaction for their dedication and contributions to the group over the years.
The prestigious Manchester office of Addleshaw Goddard provided legal advice to JD Sports throughout the deals. The team, led by partner Roger Hart, included Samantha Wright, Dan Sweeney, Greg Carr, Charlotte Andrews, Elizabeth Oakley, Nadine Waters, and David Auty.
This development follows the recent resolution of the administration proceedings for Pretty Green, the former fashion brand associated with Liam Gallagher. Moorfields Advisory, the advisory firm overseeing the process, successfully concluded its work, leading to the dissolution of both Pretty Green Limited and Pretty Green Group Limited. Although JD Sports bought the brand in April 2019 after its collapse into administration, Liam Gallagher is no longer involved in the venture.
As JD Sports takes this strategic step towards focusing on its core businesses, the future looks promising for the group’s global sports fashion enterprises. With a keen eye on international expansion and digital growth, JD Sports aims to solidify its reputation as a customer-centric leader in the industry.
