Frasers Group buys Missguided in £20m deal

Frasers Group, the owner of Sports Direct and House of Fraser, has bought Missguided out of administration in a £20 million deal.

The group has reportedly acquired the intellectual property of Missguided and other related firms Mennace Ltd and Missguided (IP) Ltd.

This comes after Missguided appointed Teneo on Monday to lead it through administration, after the brand was issued with a winding-up petition by suppliers who are owed millions of pounds.

Missguided was founded in 2009 by Nitin Passi and grew rapidly amid rising demand for online fashion. However, the company was hit hard by surging supply costs, wider inflationary pressures and waning consumer confidence in the increasingly competitive market.

Alteri Investors, which saved Missguided from collapse last autumn, had been looking at options to sell the company over the past weeks. Last month Nitin Passi stepped down from the company.

In a statement on the Guardian, CEO of Frasers Group, Michael Murray said: “We are delighted to secure a long-term future for Missguided, which will benefit from the strength and scale of Frasers Group’s platform and our operational excellence. Missguided’s digital-first approach to the latest trends in women’s fashion will bring additional expertise to the wider Frasers Group.”

The business employed approximately 340 staff before it went into administration. The Guardian reported around 80 were let go following the appointment of administrators.