One of the biggest fashion groups in Manchester could be the subject of a takeover bid from Mike Ashley's retail empire, it has emerged.
Frasers Group, whose brands include Sports Direct and House of Frasers, has significantly increased how many shares it holds in N Brown to become its second largest single shareholder. It is now only behind Lord David Alliance, who acquired the group in 1968.
According to newly-filed documents with the London Stock Exchange, Frasers Group has increased its holdings to 17.88%. It first bought into the group in October 2022 and then upped its stake a month later.
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Other major shareholders in N Brown include Schroder Investment Management as well as Nigel Alliance and Joshua Senior.
An N Brown spokesman said "We are always pleased to welcome new shareholders to the group as we continue to progress our digital transformation strategy to deliver long-term sustainable profitable growth."
The move comes after Frasers Group acquired Manchester fashion brands Missguided and I Saw It First in 2022. It also agreed to buy 15 brands from Bury-headquartered JD Sports for almost £50m in December.
Frasers Group, whose other brands include Game, Jack Wills and Evans Cycles, is now run by Mr Ashley's son-in-law Michael Murray. Shares in N Brown have spiked following the news to 36p each, their highest since the start of March last year.
Earlier this month, N Brown warned it is expecting to start its new financial year with fewer customers because of the "soft" UK discretionary consumer goods market and "difficult trading environment". The group also revealed its group revenue for the 18 weeks to the end of 2022 fell by 7.6% to £249.2m.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, N Brown said the "well-documented cost of living pressures continued to impact our customers" during its third quarter.
Also earlier this month, it was announced that JD Williams is to pay nearly £50m to settle a claim from Allianz Insurance. The label is to hand over £49.5m after a claim was first made in January 2020.
The dispute related to "significant amounts of redress" paid to customers by JD Williams and the insurer "in respect of certain historic insurance products", including payment protection insurance.
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