NEXT reported to be considering £500m sale of Reiss

NEXT is reported to be considered a £500 million sale of premium fashion chain Reiss, in which it owns a majority shareholding.

According to Sky News, the high street giant and fellow Reiss shareholder Warburg Pincus have appointed bankers at Raymond James to carry out an auction process.

The news outlet suggests that the auction is now in its second round with a number of potential buyers circling. However sources have suggested that NEXT may be using the auction process to establish a market price for Reiss, which it will then use to buy the 49% of shares it doesn't already own, or retain its 51% stake alongside a new investor.

NEXT first invested in Reiss, which was founded by retailer David Reiss more than 50 years ago, in 2021 when it acquired a 25% stake. It had an option to acquire a further 26% which it did last year and recently moved Reiss onto its Total Platform, enabling it to offer superior delivery and returns services to its customers.

At the time of its initial investment in Reiss, NEXT CEO Simon Wolfson said: “Reiss is an outstanding brand with enormous potential and a first class management team. We are excited to see what can be achieved through the combination of Reiss’s exceptional product, marketing and brand building skills with Next’s Total Platform infrastructure.”

Reiss is one of a number of brands in which NEXT has invested or entered in partnership with over recent years. It has struck up joint ventures to run UK operations for US giants Victoria's Secret and NEXT has acquired maternity and baby wear retailer JoJo Maman Bebe as well as premium fashion and lifestyle brand Joules.