TFG and Frasers Group have lost out on their aspirations to acquire the Joules brand from administrators at Interpath Advisory.
Instead, in a deal which sees Next owning 74 per cent and Tom Joule 26 per cent, a deal has been struck which will enable the Joules brand to trade on. Next has also acquired the Joules HQ building in Market Harborough for an additional £7m.
It is the plan that Joules will now trade from 100 stores and continue to employ around 1500 staff. Nineteen stores are, however, to close resulting in around 140 redundancies. CEO Jonathan Brown will retain his job and Tom Joule will remain involved in the business.
Next CEO Lord Woldson said: “We are excited to see what can be achieved through the combination of Joules’ exceptional product, marketing and brand-building skills with Next’s Total Platform infrastructure.”
Tom Joule added: “I’m so pleased that we have been able to strike a deal that protects the future of the company for all its loyal customers, its employees and also for the town of Market Harborough, which have been so central to Joules’ success.”
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