Frasers Group has Matches in its sights

Frasers Group may have been suggested as a possible buyer for Browns if it comes up for sale, but a report has suggested it could snap up Matches before Browns ever comes on the market.

Sky News — which has a good track record on fashion merger and acquisition stories — has claimed that Frasers is in “advanced talks” to buy the luxury fashion retailer in a deal that would see Matches majority owner Apax Partners making a big loss on the investment.

The report suggested a deal could come “within days”. But Frasers isn’t the only one in the running with “city sources” saying “a small number of parties” submitted offers last week. Next is also said to have “expressed an interest” in the business. It would certainly be a shock if Next took over the firm as it would mean a big move into luxury for the mainly-mass-market retailer.

Neither Matches nor Frasers nor Next have commented on the report.

A specific price hasn’t been mentioned but the report said it would be above £50 million. How far above we don’t know. Matches was sold by its founders in 2017 for a price said to be around £800 million. And Apax has made major further investments since then.

That deal came at a time when online luxury retailers were really finding their feet after having been shunned by high-end brands in the earlier stages of the e-tail revolution. 

But despite the pandemic-linked e-tail boom, it has proved hard to make profits from selling luxury fashion online and big names including Net-A-Porter and Farfetch, as well as Matches, have faced major challenges.

Matches isn’t only online, of course, with the company having started as a physical retailer in London suburb Wimbledon and also having its flagship townhouse on Carlos Place in London’s Mayfair.

If Frasers did manage to clinch a deal, it would be a big boost for that group’s elevation strategy. It has been applying this across its business, including at its mass-market Sports Direct chain. But it’s most noticeable in the growth of its luxury Flannels chain.

Matches is currently run by Nick Beighton, the former CEO of ASOS (in which Frasers has also been building up a big stake). He replaced Paolo De Cesare (the exec who last one 10 months in the role) last year.