Ashley takes 5% stake in Boohoo just a day after buying into Currys
Ashley’s summer shopping continues: Tycoon takes 5% stake in Boohoo just a day after picking up a slice of Currys
Mike Ashley continued his summer buying spree with the purchase of a 5 percent stake in Boohoo.
His company Frasers Group plunged into the fast-fashion brand just a day after picking up a slice of Currys.
The company also built stakes in AO World and Asos this month.
It marks yet more empire building by the 58-year-old tycoon, whose stable of brands includes Sports Direct, House of Fraser, Evans Cycles and Flannels.
The investment raises questions about what Ashley – who is still the majority shareholder of London-listed Frasers Group after handing over the reins to his son-in-law Michael Murray two years ago – is up to.
Big spender: Frasers Group, Mike Ashley’s company, plunged into fast fashion brand Boohoo just a day after taking a stake in Currys
A spokesman for Frasers said of this week’s investments in Boohoo and Currys: “Drive growth through strategic investments is a core part of Frasers DNA.
“We have a clear strategy to identify opportunities to invest in businesses that complement our existing sports, premium and luxury businesses.”
The spokesperson said Boohoo was an “attractive proposition to us with its laser focus on young female consumers” and that there was an opportunity for collaborations with I Saw It First and Missguided, two other brands Frasers already owns.
They added that the investment in Currys was “a valuable opportunity to gain our foothold in the electricity industry” after the company bought a 21.3 per cent stake in AO World last week.
There was also potential for further collaboration between Currys and Frasers’ home shopping company Studio.
Shares of Fraser held steady at 712 pence, Boohoo fell 2 percent, Currys gained 2.2 percent, Asos fell 3.5 percent and AO World added 1.2 percent.
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Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘Frasers Group is poking its fingers into more retail pies, picking up pieces of companies that have proved distasteful to investors in recent years.’
She said that while it was investing in high-end brands like Flannels and Hugo Boss through its “elevation strategy,” it clearly still saw the interest in more mainstream companies.
Streeter added: “As the lives of younger generations are increasingly spent online, through entertainment and shopping habits, the Frasers Group sees growing stakes in these companies as channels into those markets.”