JD buys swim group set up by Olympic stars
£15M DEAL REVEALED IN FIRST RESULTS POSTED BY RETAIL GIANT SINCE RESIGNATION OF PETER COWGILL AS CHAIRMAN
JD Sports has revealed a £15m deal to buy a group founded by former Olympic swimmers Steve Parry, Rebecca Adlington and Adrian Turner.
The Greater Manchester-headquartered retail giant has acquired a 60 per cent stake in Bolton-based Total Swimming Group.
The deal was completed on May 27 but JD Sports said that due to the proximity of the date of the acquisition and the publication of its full-year results, it could not reveal the acquisition until now.
The initial cash consideration for Total Swimming Group was £11.1m with a maximum of £4m deferred “that is contingent upon future performance criteria and certain closing conditions”.
The group was founded by former Olympic swimmers Steve Parry, Rebecca Adlington and Adrian Turner to make swimming more accessible and includes Swim!, the first multi-site operator of dedicated children’s learn to swim centres in the UK.
In its 2021 financial year, Total Swimming Group generated a revenue of £8.6m.
The deal comes after company announced a £3m investment in November 2021.
The acquisition was revealed in the full year accounts for JD Sports which show the retail giant achieved record profits but included a warning that current economic woes will hold back future growth.
The group has reported profits before tax and exceptional items of £947.2m for the 12 months to January 29, 2022, up from the £421.3m it achieved during the prior year.
Its revenue jumped from £6.1bn to £8.5bn over the same period.
The results are the first since Peter Cowgill suddenly resigned as executive chairman last month after 18 years in the role. In February, JD Sports was fined £4.3m by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for exchanging information with Footasylum, which it had agreed to buy at the time for £90m.
JD said last month Mr Cowgill was stepping down after a review of its internal governance and controls, but the move came amid speculation he was ousted. Interim chair Helen Ashton said: “Whilst we are encouraged by the resilient nature of the consumer demand to date, we remain conscious of the headwinds that prevail at this time including the general global macro-economic and geopolitical situation.” The group said it has repaid the £24.4m furlough support cash.
We remain conscious of the... general global macro-economic and geopolitical situation Interim chair Helen Ashton