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Next has agreed to acquire the brand name, domain names and intellectual property of Cath Kidston for £8.5m, with job cuts expected as the group is wound down and its remaining stores close.
The group said the cathkidston.com domain will be licenced back to the administrators for a period of up to 12 weeks to enable the clearance of stock, and will afterwards relaunch under Next’s ownership.
The company currently employs 125 people, with stores in London, Ashford, Cheshire Oaks, and York, and these will remain open to trade down stock before closing permanently.
Zelf Hussain and Rachael Wilkinson of PwC were appointed as joint administrators of CK Acquisitions Limited.
Hussain said: “Cath Kidston is a well loved lifestyle brand founded in 1993 and I am pleased to say that it has been bought by Next who will make sure it continues to flower under their ownership.
“The company has over recent years navigated through incredibly challenging market conditions including the pandemic restrictions, and most recently the decline in consumer spending driven by cost of living pressures and rising costs.”
He added: “In the short term its four stores will continue to remain open whilst operations are wound down. Sadly, there will be redundancies during this period of wind down and we will continue to support the staff throughout this period.”
Reports first emerged that the group was nearing a deal for the modern vintage brand earlier this week.
Cath Kidston is currently owned by retail investor Hilco Capital, who had reportedly been approached by a “number” of potential buyers, with PwC advising Hilco on a potential sale for several weeks.
This latest acquisition marks a further expansion to the Next portfolio.
Last December, Joules confirmed that its founder Tom Joule partnered with Next to acquire the majority of assets of Joules for a total cash consideration of £34m.
The month before, Next acquired the Made.com brand for £3.4m following the furniture retailer’s collapse into administration.
The group has also made other investments into Reiss, JoJo Maman Bébé, Sealskinz, Swoon and Aubin, along with a stake in the UK franchises for Victoria’s Secret and GAP. Last year, these investments delivered a £16.8m profit to the group.
