Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group backs N Brown takeover amid Mulberry pursuit

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Retail Reporter

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Frasers Group is to sell its 20 per cent stake in N Brown.
Frasers Group is to sell its 20 per cent stake in N Brown.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has backed the £191m proposed takeover of JD Williams-owner N Brown and announced the sale of its 20 per cent stake in the company for £38m.

The retail empire, which includes Sports Direct and House of Fraser, holds nearly 95,000,000 shares in the Manchester business and will sell them for 40p each.

N Brown, which also owns the brands Jacamo and Simply Be, is set to be acquired by a company owned by its non-executive director, Joshua Alliance, as it looks to move off AIM.

It said the reduced appetite for UK small-cap stocks and the costs associated with its listing make the investment platform unsuitable for the firm.

The move by Frasers Group comes after it announced a bid for luxury British fashion retailer Mulberry at the start of the month.

“Frasers wishes Joshua Alliance and the N Brown management team every success for the future, and although Frasers will have divested of its shareholding in full, Frasers looks forward to a strategic relationship with Joshua Alliance and the N Brown team post-Acquisition,” the company said.

Frasers will continue to pursue Mulberry

Frasers Group also provided an update on its bid to purchase Mulberry, which it purportedly wants to save from “another Debenhams situation”. Debenhams went into administration in 2020.

It has so far launched two bids. After Mulberry rejected its first bid as “not recognis[ing] the company’s substantial future potential value”, Frasers followed up with a second bid of £111m on 11 October.

However, majority shareholder Challice announced it had “no interest in… selling its Mulberry Shares to Frasers”, adding that it was an “inopportune time” for Mulberry to be sold.

“Challice hopes that by making its position clear, Frasers will be encouraged to announce that it does not intend to make an offer for Mulberry,” the company said.

Frasers Group, which needs the support of Challice to buy the luxury retailer, said it “has sought to engage with Challice directly” on the matter.

Under City rules, Frasers Group has until 5pm on 28 October to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Mulberry or announce that it does not intend to make an offer.