// Next buys 25% stake in Reiss
// Next has added hundreds of brands to its website over the years
// Reiss will have its own independent board of directors and continue to be headquartered in London
Next has purchased a 25 per cent stake in upmarket fashion retailer Reiss in a deal worth £33 million.
The move comes after Next added hundreds of brands including Barbour, Boden and Gant to its website over the years.
Reiss is owned by US private equity firm Warburg Pincus and was up for sale prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Reiss chief executive Christos Angelides, who previously worked for Next, will continue to lead the business after four years at the helm.
Reiss will have its own independent board of directors and continue to be headquartered in London.
Reiss’s websites and online operations, both in the UK and overseas, will be contracted to Next through its total platform.
It is anticipated Reiss will go live on Next’s total platform in February 2022.
Upon completion of this deal, which is subject to regulatory clearance, Next will make an equity investment of £33 million and a debt investment of £10 million, financed from its own cash resources.
Under the terms of the agreement, Next has an option to acquire an additional 26 per cent interest at pre-agreed terms which, if exercised, would take Next’s holding to 51 per cent. The option falls away after July 2022.
“Whilst we will continue to focus on creating authentic and timeless collections, today’s announcement provides a great opportunity for Reiss to realise the Brand’s global potential as a modern fashion house,” Angelides said.
Next chief executive Lord Wolfson said: “Reiss is an outstanding brand with enormous potential and a first class management team.
“We are excited to see what can be achieved through the combination of Reiss’s exceptional product, marketing and brand building skills with Next’s total platform infrastructure.”
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