Frasers has acquired all of the related IP of Missguided in a deal valued at £20 million from administrators Teneo.
Missguided was founded by Nitin Passi in 2009, capitalising on demand from young budget-fashion seeking consumers, in competition with Asos and Boohoo. It had earned a reputation for selling at very low prices which had, in part, been facilitated by using suppliers who were not abiding by minimum wage or employee welfare or working conditions legislation. Principally selling online, Missguided had also briefly operated several stores but these were closed due the high costs of operating them. Having run into mounting supply chain and cashflow difficulties late last year, Alteri Investors had moved to take a 50 per cent stake with every intention of turning the business around. However frustrated creditors issued a winding-up petition early in May and, as a result, the business entered administration earlier this week.
With Passi having stepped down from the CEO role in April, putting the business up for sale as a going concern, it had been expected to be acquired by one of its competitors with Boohoo considered to be the most likely to take it. However, even a mooted pre-pack sale to Boohoo via the administrators failed to complete, leaving Frasers to scoop up Missguided after Teneo administrators had made some 80 Missguided employees redundant on Monday.
Frasers CEO Michael Murray said: “We are delighted to secure a long-term future for Missguided, which will benefit from the strength and scale of Fraser 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 Missguided business will be operated by the administrator under a transitional agreement for the next two months, after which it will operate as a standalone business within Frasers.
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