Frasers Group snapped up a 9% stake in Currys and 5% in Boohoo this week as the Mike Ashley-controlled business solidifies its reputation as retail’s most acquisitive firm.
This week’s deals come on top of the £75m stake it took in AO World and the additional shares it bought in Asos last week.
Such is Ashley’s rampant deal-making that it can be difficult to keep track with what exactly he owns.
Retail Gazette looks at the retailers and stakes he owns and the timeline of Frasers Group’s many acquisitions.
What does Frasers Group own?
Stakes
AO
Last week Frasers Group took a 19% stake in Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World, worth £75 million, from troubled hedge fund Odey Asset Management.
Michael Murray said that “through this investment, Frasers will benefit from AO’s valuable know-how in electricals and two-man delivery, helping us to drive growth in our bulk equipment and homeware ranges. In turn, AO will have the opportunity to benefit from Frasers’ expertise and ecosystem.”
Asos
Frasers Group raised its stake in Asos three times this month and now sits at 10.6%, as speculation over a takeover of the embattled online fashion retailer mounts.
Asos has three big shareholders: Bestseller owner Anders Holch Povlsen, who holds a 26% stake, hedge fund Camelot Capital Partners, which who has 15%, and Frasers Group with 10.6%.
Boohoo
It emerged this week that Frasers Group had taken a 5% stake in Boohoo. The retail group described Boohoo as an “attractive proposition” through its “laser focus on young female consumers”.
“We see potential synergies and an opportunity to strengthen our own brand proposition in collaboration with Boohoo, most obviously with Frasers Group brands I Saw It First and Missguided,” it explained.
Currys
Just a week after taking a stake in Ao.com, Frasers took a 9% in its rival Currys.
The retailer said it planned to deepen the relationship between Currys and the online department store Studio, which Frasers also owns.
It also said it “provides us with a valuable opportunity to build on our foothold in the electricals industry”.
“Through this investment, we also believe Currys will benefit from Frasers’ deep retail know-how and our sector-leading ecosystem,” it said.
N Brown
At the start of the year Frasers significantly increased its stake in online group N Brown to 17.88% to become its second-largest shareholder behind Lord David Alliance.
N Brown operates brands including JD Williams, Jacamo and Simply Be.
Hugo Boss
After increasing its investment in the luxury fashion brand late last year, in January Frasers revealed that its financial exposure to Hugo brand had fallen to £580m.
Frasers now holds 3.9% of Hugo Boss shares but has a put option over an additional 25%, below the 4.3% stake and 30.3% in put options it held in November.
The group has always made clear its intention to be a “supportive stakeholder” in Hugo Boss and said it holds belife in the brand, strategy and its management team.
Mulberry
Back in November Frasers raised its stake on the luxury retailer to almost 37% although a month later the group said it would not be making a formal offer for Mulberry, wiping £15m off its value.
Last month, Frasers Group requested a voice in Mulberry’s boardroom due to a perceived lack of transparency around its Asian business and what level of control Mulberry’s largest shareholder, Singapore-based billionaire Ong Beng Seng and his wife Christina, have there.
Retailers it owns outright
Former-JD Sports fashion brands
Acquired: February 2023
At the start of the year Frasers Group formally formally acquired the “non-core” UK fashion brands of JD Sports.
Brands including Tessuti, Scotts, Choice, Giulio and Cricket brands were all included in the transaction.
Amara.com
Acquired: December 2022
Late last year, Frasers Group added online homewares retailer Amara.com to its vast retail portfolio for an undisclosed sum.
The online platform houses over 300 of the world’s leading home brands such as Missoni, Versace Home and more.
Frasers Group chief executive Michael Murray said: “This acquisition will build on our ambitions to create a credible homeware destination for Flannels.”
Gieves & Hawkes
Acquired: November 2022
In November last year, the retail conglomerate snapped up the Gieves & Hawkes brand and five UK stores, including its Savile Row shop.
Murray, at the time of the acquisition, said: “This acquisition further adds to our portfolio of strategic investments in luxury and premium brands.”
The 250-year-old menswear retailer was put up for sale after its owner, Hong Kong-based Trinity Group, went into liquidation in December 2021.
ISawItFirst.com
Acquired: July 2022
ISawItFirst.com was acquired by the retail group last July, the latest in the tranche of online retailers it has snapped up this year.
It emerged this week that Frasers only paid £1 for the retailer, which was set up by Jalal Kamani, the brother of Boohoo co-founder Mahmud Kamani.
Frasers Group stated that at the time of the acquisition, that the online fast fashion retailer owed £13m to its shareholders.
Missguided
Acquired: June 2022
Missguided was acquired by the group in a £20m deal last June following its administration.
The brand collapsed after its clothing suppliers that were owed millions issued a winding up petition.
This was not the first time it experienced troubles. In the latter half of 2021, Missguided sold 50% of the business to Alteri Investors as it sought emergency funding.
Young fashion retailers Missguided and ISawItFirst now operate under one division. As well as selling through their own websites, he brands are also available via House of Fraser.
Studio Retail
Acquired: February 2022
Frasers Group picked up Studio Retail out of administration in a £26.8m deal.
The Mike Ashley-controlled retail group had been the catalogue and online retailer’s biggest shareholder, holding a 28.9% stake at the point of its collapse.
Studio plunged into administration after its request for a short-term loan from its bank was rejected. The brand needed the loan while it sold through excess stock it was left with after shipping issues peak last year caused delivery delays.
Jack Wills
Acquired: August 2019
Frasers Group, then Sports Direct, snapped up the Jack Wills brand and UK trading assets in a £12.8m pre-pack administration deal in August 2019.
The retailer, popular for its preppy style, brought in administrators after it struggled with cash flow after it plunged to a pre-tax loss of £29.3m in the year to 31 January, 2018.
Since then, the brand has been stocked in House of Fraser while several underperforming Jack Wills stores have closed down.
The brand continues to operate as a separately under the Frasers umbrella.
Sofa.com
Acquired: February 2019
Frasers Group acquired Sofa.com in February 2019 for a “nominal sum” beating out furniture specialist ScS Group.
The furniture brand, which had concessions in House of Fraser, reportedly suffered after the department store fell into administration in 2018.
After being bought out, it continues to operate as a separate brand and has retained its concessions in House of Fraser.
House of Fraser
Acquired: August 2018
As one of the group’s most high profile acquisitions, House of Fraser was snapped up in a £90m pre-pack administration deal in 2018.
At the time, its then-CEO Mike Ashley promised to turn the 173-year-old retailer into the ‘Harrods of the high street’.
However, the retailer has been in terminal decline since entering administration – with Ashley even branding the acquisition as a mistake in 2019.
Its stores have been gradually disappearing from the high street with just over 30 left across the UK. It had 59 when the group bought it.
Frasers has used the brand’s remaining stores to stock products from its other fashion, furniture and lifestyle brands such as Jack Wills, I Saw It First and Sofa.com.
Evans Cycles
Acquired:October 2018
Sports Direct snapped up Evans Cycles in a pre-pack administration deal, which saw half of the bike retailer’s stores close.
Little is known about how the brand has performed since the acquisition, although it is likely the retailer had a bumper time during the pandemic when cycling took off.
Game
Acquired: June 2019
Mike Ashley added Game to his retail empire in June 2019 in a £52m deal.
Frasers Group, which was Sports Direct at the time, had built a sizeable share in the gaming retailer, which it upped to 30% in 2019, sparking a mandatory takeover bid.
Since the acquisition, Game has strengthened its position. The retailer, which had been in a perilous position as gamers were increasingly bypassing traditional retailers, has been creating gaming spaces both in stores and online.
Agent Provocateur
Acquired: March 2017
Frasers Group acquired Agent Provocateur in a pre-pack administration deal worth £27.5m back in March 2017.
The lingerie retailer was put up for sale by its private equity owner, 3i, after it struggled from challenging trading conditions and an accountancy error in November that lowered the value of the business by £39m.
It continues to operate as a separate brand with its own stores as well as stocked in some of Ashley’s stores and other retailers.
Flannels
Acquired: 51% stake in 2012, full control in September 2017
The retail conglomerate announced in September 2017 it had taken full ownership of Flannels having previously acquired a 51% stake back in 2012.
The multi-brand retailer stocks a long list of designer brands including Gucci, Vivienne Westwood and Stone Island.
Since then, the group has been persistent on its expansion plans for the retailer opening new flagship stores in major UK cities and entering the Irish market.
USC
Acquired: 80% stake in 2011, fully owned 2015
Frasers Group, then Sports Direct, bought an 80% stake in USC from Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter for £7m in July 2011.
However, in early 2015 the young fashion retailer plunged into administration and was bought back by Frasers-owned Republic.
The USC brand name was retained, and Republic was retired.
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