// JD Sports chairman Andrew Higginson has bought almost £400,000 worth of shares in the sportswear retailer
// Higginson took over from Peter Cowgill last month after his dramatic departure
New JD Sports Fashion chairman Andrew Higginson has snapped up almost £400,000 in shares in the sportswear retailer.
Higginson, who joined JD Sports last month, bought 292,725 for 132.67p and a further 6,217 shares at 132.32p which means the total transaction was just short of £400,000.
The share buy comes after JD Sports revealed on Friday that it had completed the sale of Footasylum to German investment group Aurelius for £37.5 million.
This is a significant loss on the £90 million it had paid for the footwear retailer in March 2019.
READ MORE: JD Sports appoints former B&Q executive Régis Schultz as new CEO
The CMA had blocked the acquisition and JD Sports found itself mired in controversy after Higginson’s predecessor Peter Cowgill was found to have covertly met Footasylum CEO Barry Bown on two occasions – one in a carpark – in breach of the CMA’s order.
JD was handed a £4.3 million fine in light of the clandestine meeting.
Cowgill dramatically departed the sportswear retailer in May after leading the business for nearly two decades.
The business is also facing another hefty fine from the CMA after it was found to have engaged in price fixing of Rangers football shirts.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
