Boohoo to buy Debenhams brand for £55m

Investing

Boohoo confirmed on Monday that it would buy the intellectual property assets of department store chain Debenhams for £55m in a deal that will expand its reach and take it into new categories such as beauty and homewares.

The online fashion retailer said it intended to “rebuild and relaunch the Debenhams platform” and create “the UK’s largest marketplace across fashion, beauty, sport and homeware”.

John Lyttle, the former Primark executive recruited by Boohoo to oversee its expansion into a retailer of genuine scale, said: “The acquisition of the Debenhams brand is an important development for the group, as we seek to capture incremental growth opportunities arising from the accelerating shift to online retail.”

Mahmud Kamani, co-founder and executive chairman, added that it “represents a huge step which accelerates our ambition to be a leader, not just in fashion ecommerce, but in new categories”.

Debenhams will relaunch on the group’s online platform in the first quarter of next year.

The transaction does not include any of the chain’s department stores, which are set to be wound down with substantial job losses among its workforce. Boohoo is also not acquiring any of the group’s stock or its financial services operation.

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