Ashley fashions £20m rescue to buy Missguided following collapse

MIKE ASHLEY has added Missguided to his shopping empire after buying the fast-fashion brand out of administration for £20m.

Frasers has snapped up most of the intellectual property belonging to the online retailer, with 147 jobs expected to be shifted to the Sports Direct owner.

About 80 staff were made redundant after Missguided collapsed on Monday.

The company’s suppliers are owed millions of pounds and have filed a complaint with the Insolvency Service.

Administrators at Teneo pinned the business’s demise on rising inflation, supply chain costs and weakening consumer confidence.

It will be operated by Teneo for eight weeks before joining Frasers as a “standalone business”. Other assets, including the stock, could be sold separately.

Mr Ashley’s future son-in-law Michael Murray, who recently took over as chief executive of Frasers, said he was delighted to secure a long-term future for Missguided. He said its digital approach to women’s fashion was something Frasers could benefit from.

Missguided, based in Manchester, was founded in 2009 by Nitin Passi with a £50,000 loan from his father and grew it with help from social media influencers.

Darcey Jupp, a retail analyst at Globaldata, said: “The value online retailer is a clear digression away from the Frasers’ typical sports and premium fascias. However, its purchase of the intellectual property is certainly a punt worth taking, particularly if it can leverage its scale to recapture Missguided’s young audience and make the brand competitive again.”

Missguided is not the first struggling British player to be snapped up by Frasers, which has previously taken control of companies including Jack Wills. It was previously rescued in the autumn by Alteri Investors, a restructuring specialist backed by Apollo, after struggling to break even.

Police were reportedly called to the company’s head office in Manchester last month after angry suppliers turned up after their invoices were unpaid.

Shipping orders is currently the responsibility of administrators at Teneo.