Frasers Group ups Asos stake to almost 17%
Mike Ashley-owned Frasers Group has increased its stake in online retailer Asos once again.
The parent company of Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Flannels, has increased its stake from 10.5% to 16.8% months after its initial investment into the fashion retailer.
In June, the group increased its stake to 8.8% from 7.4%.
The move comes despite Asos recently reporting a 7% drop in sales to £1.84 billion in the six months to 28 February 2023.
Pre-tax losses also increased to £290.9 million, compared with £15. 9 million, in the same period last year.
The company said in June it was on-track to deliver adjusted EBIT guidance of between 40 million pounds and 60 million pounds in the second half of FY23.
At the time, Asos CEO José Antonio Ramos Calamonte said: “We continue to focus on making Asos the best possible destination for our fashion-loving customers.
“At the same time, we are delivering on our plan to turn the business around: to right-size our stock; to generate cash; to reduce our net debt; and to structurally improve our profitability.”
The move is part of Fraser Group’s acquisition spree, in which it has made “strategic stake” purchases in AO, Currys, Boohoo and Mulberry.
