Frasers Group leads charge for £75m City of London property deal

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is leading the way to acquire the Worship Street Estate, a 195,000 sq ft mixed-use space located where the City, Shoreditch and Tech City converge in London, in a deal worth about £75 million, according to Sky News.

A sale process was initiated by the City of London Corporation earlier in the summer, with other bidders reportedly named in media reports including Ares Management, Oval Real Estate and General Projects.

Should Frasers Group succeed in the acquisition, it would mark a significant further expansion of Mike Ashley’s ever-increasing property portfolio.

In July, Frasers Group acquired the intellectual property of Glasgow retailer Greaves Sports, with its 30,000 sq ft flagship store at 23 Gordon Street and its online store set to continue under the established name.

The family-run business has operated in Glasgow since 1930 and is currently run by Sandy Greaves and his sister, Anne Leslie. No financial terms of the deal have been shared, although it was specified to be an IP transaction.

The deal brings another specialist name into Frasers Group’s portfolio, which includes Sports Direct, Flannels, Game, Evans Cycles and USC. The group also has Scottish retail property interests, including the Braehead Shopping Centre near Glasgow Airport and the Overgate Centre in Dundee.

Frasers Group acquired House of Fraser in 2018 and holds the freehold of the building housing its department store on Buchanan Street in Glasgow. The group has also invested in sports, premium fashion and retail property.

Meanwhile, last week Frasers Group increased its holding in Hugo Boss to 37.58% after its €38-a-share takeover offer was cleared by regulators in Germany, making the offer "unconditional".

In the past 18 months alone, Frasers has acquired a majority stake in Italian multi-sport retailer Maxi Sport, taken control of Norwegian sporting goods chain XXL, and added multiple UK designer outlets and shopping centres to its property portfolio.

Also last week, Frasers Group opened its first joint retail and fitness proposition outside the UK with a four-storey, 85,000 sq ft integrated Sports Direct and Everlast Gyms+ flagship at 54–62 Henry Street in Dublin, taking over the former Debenhams site.