Frasers Group becomes second-largest shareholder in N Brown
Frasers Group has increased its stake in N Brown Group to 17.88%, becoming the company's second-largest shareholder.
The move places Frasers' stake behind Lord David Alliance, who acquired the group in 1968.
The news comes after Frasers first purchased shares in N Brown in October 2022. It later increased its stake in the owner of Simply Be and JD Williams in November 2022.
Earlier this month, N Brown warned it is expecting to start its new financial year with lower active customers because of the "soft" market and "difficult trading environment". The company also revealed that its revenue for the 18 weeks ending 31 December 2022 fell by 7.6% to £249.2 million.
Frasers Group, which was founded by Mike Ashley but now run by his son-in-law Michael Murray, has been pursuing ambitious growth and expansion plans in recent months.
The announcement follows a number of acquisitions from Frasers, including Missguided, Studio Retail and ISawItFirst in 2022. The group also purchased a 5.1% stake in ASOS in October 2022, following the online retailer's drop in sales for the year to 31 August 2022.
However, Frasers recently reduced its stake in Hugo Boss after previously upping its investment into the luxury fashion house. It now owns 3.9% of Hugo Boss’s total share capital, a reduction from the 4.3% that it previously owned.
