Asos to buy Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge for £265m

Asos confirmed on Monday that it will acquire the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands for £265m plus £30m worth of inventory as it looks to accelerate sales of third-party brands on its marketplace. The transaction will save about 300 jobs as employees across design, buying and retail partnerships will be transferred to Asos, but does not include the group’s 70 stores.

Topshop, part of Philip Green’s once-mighty Arcadia fashion empire, was hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the repeated closure of its stores for weeks at a time. The company was put into administration in November, along with the rest of Arcadia.

Asos said there would be about £20m of start-up costs in the current financial year, but that it expected the brands to generate a “double-digit” return on capital in the year to August 2022. It also said it would work with retail partners such as Nordstrom in the US, with which Topshop has a concession agreement, to accelerate international expansion.

Recommended LombardBryce Elder Online retailers are playing a risky game with the UK high street “We are extremely proud to be the new owners of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands,” said Nick Beighton, Asos chief executive.

“The acquisition of these iconic British brands is a hugely exciting moment for Asos and our customers and will help accelerate our multi-brand platform strategy.” The transaction, which should be completed this week, follows the sale of Evans to City Chic in December for £23m. Boohoo is in discussions over the remaining brands in the Arcadia stable — Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis.