Frasers Group snaps up yet more Boohoo shares

Frasers Group has upped its stake in Boohoo Group for the second time in a matter of days and now holds 7.9% of the online fashion group's stock.

The latest tranche of shares were purchased on Friday evening and the transaction followed another share purchase on 26 July in which its took its shareholding from 5% to 6.8%.

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, which is home to Sports Direct, House of Fraser, Flannels and more, first revealed in June that it had taken a 5% stake in the Manchester fashion group, which owns brands such as Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, Coast, Karen Millen, Oasis and Warehouse.

Frasers often takes what it describes as "strategic stakes" in fashion brands and currently holds shares in Mulberry and Hugo Boss. It had previously held shareholdings in French Connection Debenhams, the latter of which now comes under the Boohoo umbrella after the group bought the former department store chain's name and IP and revived it as an online-only entity. Frasers has also amassed a more than 10% in Boohoo rival ASOS.

Boohoo Group itself is in the midst of a stake building exercise and has been snapping up shares in the troubled Revolution Beauty. It now controls around 27% of the make-up and skincare business whose target young market aligns with Boohoo's fast fashion brands.