Next 'set to buy' fellow fashion retailer FatFace in bombshell £100million deal

11 October 2023 , 11:39

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Next is reportedly set to buy fellow fashion retailer FatFace in a deal worth £100million (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Next is reportedly set to buy fellow high street fashion brand FatFace in a deal worth £100million.

Sky News reports that Next is putting together the "finishing touches" to an acquisition deal for FatFace and that a deal could be announced as soon as later this week.

FatFace is a British lifestyle brand founded in 1988 by Tim Slade and Jules Leaver and based in Hampshire. The company sells product ranges across women's, men's, kids, footwear and accessories. In the UK, the chain has around 180 stores. FatFace is currently run by chief executive Will Crumbie.

The purchase of FatFace will be the latest name to have been bought up by Next since the COVID-19 pandemic. High street names which have been purchased by the retailer include the online furniture company Made.com, the clothing brand Cath Kidston, and JoJo Maman Bebe, the maternity wear retailer. Next's chief executive Lord Wolfson has also struck partnerships with Victoria's Secret and Gap.

These purchases as "displaced" Mike Ashley's Frasers Group as the UK's most frequent acquirer of smaller retail brands Sky News reports.

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The deal for FatFace is believed to have been in discussion for months with FatFace's owners reportedly appointing Rothschild to advise on strategic options in May last year. Sky News says the deal will "represent a positive outcome" for FatFace as the business was taken over by lenders including Alcentra and Lloyds Banking Group in the summer of 2020.

It is not yet known what will happen if the sale is completed and whether stores will be affected. Next already sells FatFace products on its website.

Next, which recently raised profit forecasts, has a market value of £8.75billion. FatFace also reported a positive outlook recently as profits for the fashion retailer skyrocketed to £17.3million in the year to May 2023. Sales at UK FatFace stores also jumped 15% on a like-for-like basis - returning to pre-pandemic levels. In its recent results, the fashion chain said it would continue to grow in the North America market.

FatFace declined to comment to Sky News.

The Mirror has approached Next for comment.

Ruby Flanagan