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City Chic Collective has announced it has entered into a binding asset purchase agreement to acquire the Evans retail brand for £23.1m which will be completed on 23 December 2020.
The group said it will also receive the benefit of a transitional services arrangement in connection with the Evans e-commerce business until April 2021.
The transaction reportedly excludes the Evans “bricks and mortar” store network of over 100 locations in the UK.
The acquisition will be funded from City Chic’s existing cash balance, with the company’s pre acquisition cash balance at A$121m (£68.6m) as of 30 November 2020. The group said its A$40m (£22m) debt facility will remain undrawn.
Phil Ryan, CEO and MD of City Chic said: “I have followed Evans for over a decade and seen how within Arcadia’s portfolio the brand has evolved from a dominant high street retailer into a more digitally focused business.
“We had a successful partnership with Evans for many years which was a great channel for the City Chic brand in the UK. Evans gives us an excellent foundation in a new geography to grow our collective and is a brand which aligns with our existing product streams.”
He added: “The acquisition meets our strategic objective of growing through global customer acquisition, digitally, and in the $50bn curvy apparel market. In addition to providing a launching pad into a new market,we are confident we can deploy our lean, customer-centric operating model to drive revenue growth and cost efficiencies in the existing business.
“We have a great opportunity ahead of us to develop the third major region for the City Chic Collective.”
