Next snapped up maternity brand Seraphine out of administration in early August, making it the latest to join the retailer’s growing portfolio.
Here, Retail Gazette takes a look at what businesses the High Street giant owns and the timeline of acquisitions.
Seraphine
Acquired: July 2025
It paid £600,000 for the branding and intellectual property assets of the company that counts Catherine, Princess of Wales as a fan.
Next said it plans to refocus the business on what it does best, “creating stylish, practical solutions for new and expecting mums around the world”.
Seraphine ran into financial trouble at the start August after failing to secure new investment. It followed a period of difficult trading for the brand as weak consumer confidence weighed on sales.
FatFace
Acquired: October 2023
Today, Next holds a 97% stake in the business, while its former management maintains a 3% hold.
Under its ownership, FatFace has retained its management autonomy and creative independence, but has migrated its online operations onto Next’s Total Platform.
Next unveiled its first FatFace concession earlier this month inside its new Lakeside store, in Essex.
Reiss
Acquired: 72% in September 2023
It paid £33m for the 25% stake and gave Reiss a £10m loan. As part of the deal, Next began operating Reiss’ website and online operations contracted to Next through its total platform.
Reiss chief executive Christos Angelides, who was previously group product director at Next, has continued to lead the business. The brand still has creative independence with its own board of directors, however, Next boss Lord Wolfson became its chairman in 2021.
Following Reiss’ integration onto Total Platform, its delivery and returns offer has been brought into line with Next’s market-leading proposition, which includes faster delivery, later cut-offs and more click-and-collect points.
Next has helped to boost Reiss’ performance. It bought out private equity Warburg Pincus at the start of September for £128m squashing reports it was looking to offload the retailer in a £500m sale.
Cath Kidston
Acquired: March 2023
Next acquired Cath Kidston’s brand name, domain names and intellectual property after the business fell into administration in March 2023. The retailer paid £8.5m for the assets in a pre-pack deal.
The group relaunched the brand on its website in June the same year, selling its full range of vintage-inspired clothing, gifts and home accessories.
Last year, Cath Kidston returned to brick-and-mortar retail for the first time since its collapse with a new shop at London’s Westfield White City.
Joules
Acquired: December 2022
Next bought Joules in a £34m deal back in 2022 after the fashion retailer collapsed into administration.
Partnering with founder Tom Joule, Next snapped up a 74% stake in the British retailer with the remaining 26% still owned by Joule.
Shortly after the acquisition, hundreds of Joules employees found themselves facing redundancy as Next said a number of tasks could now be absorbed into its existing teams or were no longer be needed.
Made.com
Acquired: November 2022
The online furniture retailer was bought by Next in November in a £3.4m deal, which includes the etailer’s brand, domain names and intellectual property.
Next, which has a thriving furniture and homewares business, opened its first Made.com concession within its Meadowhall shopping centre store in Sheffield a year later. It also partnered with high street rival John Lewis for a shop-in-shop at its Oxford Street flagship.
Jojo Maman Bébé
Acquired: 44% stake in April 2022
Specialist baby goods retailer JoJo Maman Bebe was bought out by Next and a group of investors in April 2022.
Next, which owns 44% of JoJo after it made a £16.3m cash investment, has kept the brand distinct from the rest of its fashion and homewares business.
The brand’s boutique stores have remained open while Next operates its online business via its online platform.
Victoria’s Secret UK
Acquired: 51% stake in September 2020
After lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret fell into administration in the UK in June 2020, Next secured 51% of the UK division in a joint venture with the brand’s US parent company L Brands.
Next operates Victoria’s Secret stores, in-store concessions and the brand’s website.
In its year to January 2022, the retailer made a £3.4m profit from Victoria’s Secret UK, which was lower than expectations due to stock shortages.
Gap UK
Acquired: 51% stake in September 2021
In the same month it signed with Victoria’s Secret, Next made a similar deal with Gap, two months after it decided to close down its UK stores in 2021.
Next now owns a 51% stake in Gap as a franchise partner and manages the online business in the UK and Ireland which has fully migrated into Next’s Total Platform.
The retailer has also opened six Gap branded shop-in-shops including at its Oxford Street flagship, Lakeside, Birmingham and Manchester. It also brought Gap-owned Banana Republic back to the UK via its website.
Fabled
Acquired: June 2019
Next made its first and only beauty acquisition in 2019 when it bought Fabled by Marie Claire from Ocado in an £8m deal.
It paid a small upfront fee for the beauty website and at least £3m as part of an earnout agreement, giving the online grocer a cut of sales for the four years to 2024.
Next had been collaborating with Fabled in the lead up to the sale, selling more than 100 beauty brands through next.co.uk, including Smashbox, Burberry and Estee Lauder.
Lipsy
Acquired: 2008
Young fashion brand Lipsy was bought by Next back in 2008 for £17.4m.
Since then, the retailer has slowly transitioned the brand into its fold. In 2018, Lipsy’s website closed down redirecting its traffic to Next where the majority of sales were driven through.
The high street giant has also opened Lipsy concessions in multiple stores and the brand has been particularly successful online. Three years ago, Lipsy’s made just £6.8m via ecommerce, in its last financial year it made £27.5m.
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