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Sportswear retailer JD Sports has acquired an 8% stake in footwear retailer Footasylum.
JD said it had purchased the stake “for investment purposes”. The company said it was prepared to take on an interest of 29.9%, hovering just below the limit for a mandatory takeover bid, however it added it was “not intending to make an offer”. Footasylum said it “continues to operate its business as usual” despite the acquisition.
Shares in Footasylum soared up to 75p per share when trading opened yesterday morning (18 February) following the deal.
Recently Footasylum has blamed “weak consumer sentiment” for its recent woes, with it reporting last month that it had seen “challenging trading conditions” during the festive period. Despite its recent troubles, the company’s CEO Barry Bown said it was “pleased” with the performance of new stores opened in time for Christmas.
JD Sports has been bucking the trend of late, announcing a total sales growth of 15% for the 48-week period to 5 January 2019. The company’s CEO Peter Cowgill said he felt the company’s Christmas performance had provided a “solid foundation for future development”.
