Mike Ashley's Frasers Group launches bid to take over Mulberry

Mike Ashley
-Credit: (Image: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire)


Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has made an £83m takeover bid for Mulberry after the fashion brand warned it was being hit by a downturn in the luxury market.

Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, already owns a 37% stake in Mulberry and has offered 130p per share for the rest of the firm, valuing the stake in the company it does not own at £52.4m.

It comes after Mulberry said on Friday that it needed to raise more than £10m after slumping to a significant loss for the past year. The luxury fashion firm reported a £34.1m pre-tax loss for the year to March 31 after revenues fell 18% as wealthy shoppers reined in their spending.

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Within its accounts, Mulberry warned that the downturn has resulted in a “material uncertainty, which may cast significant doubt on the group and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern” if its struggles continue. Frasers said it is pushing to take control of Mulberry partly due to these concerns about the long-term viability of the business.

The company said: “Frasers are exceptionally concerned by the audit opinion in the latest annual report released on Friday September 27 2024, which notes a ‘material uncertainty related to going concern’. As a 37% shareholder, Frasers will not accept another Debenhams situation where a perfectly viable business is run into administration.”

Frasers Group, where former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is still the majority shareholder, held a roughly £180m stake in Debenhams before the historic retailer collapsed into administration in 2020, with his stake becoming almost worthless.

Mulberry was founded in Somerset in 1971 by Roger Saul and has celebrity fans including the Princess of Wales and Kate Moss. The company is being led by Andrea Baldo after the former Ganni chief executive replaced long-serving chief Thierry Andretta in a bid to drive improved performance.

Mulberry has been contacted for comment.