Sports Direct International PLC (LON:SPD) has continued its takeover of the UK high street, paying £12,750,000 in cash for the business and assets of clothing retailer Jack Wills which entered into a pre-pack administration on Monday.
In a statement, the FTSE 250-listed firm, which is owned by controversial billionaire Mike Ashley, said the purchase includes all of the Jack Wills UK and Republic of Ireland stores and stock and the international Jack Wills brand.
For the year ended 28 January 2018, Jack Wills had gross assets of £98,965,000 and made an operating loss (before exceptional items) of £14,232,000 and a net profit (after exceptional items) of £19,206,000.
Jack Wills, which was put up for sale since July by private equity owners Bluegem Capital Partners, currently employs 1,800 people and has 110 of its own stores throughout the UK.
Over the last 12 months Sports Direct has bought a number of high street names out of administration, including House of Fraser, Evans Cycles and Sofa.com, as well as making unsuccessful bids for Debenhams, HMV and Patisserie Valerie.
Pippa Stephens, retail analyst at data and analytics company GlobaData commented: “Though Mike Ashley has given Jack Wills a much needed lifeline, he already has far too much on his plate to make the ailing lifestyle brand a priority and implement a successful turnaround strategy.
“While Ashley recently admitted that he regrets purchasing House of Fraser, significant time and money are still required to resurrect the failing department store retailer, making it the focus if Ashley is to retain his self-penned ‘saviour of the high street’ label.”
In a lengthy statement accompanying its recent disappointing full year results numbers, Sports Direct said the feared problems at House of Fraser were “nothing short of terminal in nature” as it reported an operating loss of £54.6m, worse than analysts had expected, at the ailing department store chain.