Frasers Group has revealed that it acquired online retailer I Saw It First for a cash sum of only £1 earlier this year.
In its latest interim results for H1, Frasers said the brand owed £13m to shareholders at the time of its takeover.
As part of the transaction, which took place on 28 July 2022, a debt transfer took place which transferred the loan to Frasers, making it the new lender.
Since its takeover, I Saw It First has reported revenues of £5.6m, though it has also seen a pre-tax loss of £5.8m.
The I Saw It First acquisition forms part of a series of takeovers that Frasers has made over the half-year period.
Elsewhere, Frasers acquired Missguided for £30.8m on 1 June 2022, in a move that would “add additional expertise to the group’s digital women’s fashion offering”.
Missguided reported revenues of £5.2m and a pre-tax loss of £1.2m since being acquired by the group.
On 16 May 2022, Frasers acquired Danish sport retailer Sportmaster for £0.9m in a bid to grow its retail presence in Denmark. It has since reported revenues of £36.3m and a pre-tax loss of £7m.
In addition, the group acquired MySale for a cash consideration of £13.8m. In its latest report, Frasers said the takeover would “accelerate the group’s global growth strategy, enhance its operational capabilities and its offering to consumers” and help it explore investment in retail opportunities in Australia.
Overall, the group said its acquisitions over the period “expand our digital offering and bring short lead time sourcing and further social media marketing expertise to that segment and the Frasers Group”.
