Footasylum confirms plans to float on AIM
Footasylum, the sports and casual footwear retailer aimed at the 16-24 year old market, has announced plans to float on AIM next month.
The company said the proceeds from the placing will be used to drive growth of it 60-strong store estate to at least 150 outlets. In addition, Footasylum is looking to make significant investments over the next three years in increasing its digital presence as part of a broader upgrade of its IT systems.
Clare Nesbitt, chief executive of Footasylum, said: “This is a logical next step in Footasylum’s upward trajectory as we seek to build on our exciting product-led, multichannel expansion strategy.
“We see substantial opportunities ahead across our retail, online and wholesales channels, and believe that we have the people, products and strategy to realise them.”
Footasylum has also announced that Barry Bown is to join its board as executive chairman next June when John Wardle will retire from the role. Bown was chief executive of JD Sports from 2000 to 2014.
The company said: “The directors believe that Barry’s extensive experience of building a retail business in the public domain and his excellent high level relationships with many major brands will enable him to make a valuable contribution to the company’s leadership team.”
Footasylum has recently launched wholesale arm for distributing its own brand ranges via a network of partners. In its most recent financial year, the company’s stores accounted for 71% of revenue while ecommerce made up 29%.
