JD Sports eyeing up national camping retailer

JD Sports

BURY-based JD Sports Fashion looks poised to swoop for privately-owned Go Outdoors.

If it goes ahead, the move would make the company the LSE’s biggest sports goods retailer.

According to Sky News, JD Sports is among bidders exploring offers for Sheffield-headquartered Go Outdoors put up for grabs by its management and private equity backers. Several buyout firms are also in the running.

No information has been released on whether JD Sports had tabled a formal bid yet, although an auction run by KPMG is expected to reach a conclusion by the end of the year, Sky said.

JD Sports’ interest in a takeover underlines the continuing ambitions of its management team, led by executive chairman Peter Cowgill.

The company has demonstrated an impressive track record of growth, and now has a market value of more than £2.5bn.

Four years ago, it acquired the bulk of the Blacks and Millets estates when they ran into difficulty.

In June, it said that the Euro 2016 football tournament had fuelled a surge in sales, despite England’s lacklustre performance was encapsulated by its second-round exit to Iceland.

Its fortunes have contrasted with those of Sports Direct, which faces a shareholder backlash at next month’s annual shareholder meeting over its corporate governance and working practices.

The news of JD Sports’ interest in another deal comes in the same week that data was published showing a 1.4% rise in retail sales in July, confounding some economists’ expectations of a post-Brexit referendum slowdown.

Go Outdoors has also grown rapidly, with sales rising by 20% between 2014 and 2015.

The company – part-owned by private equity group 3i – has embarked on a £10m expansion plan that will include the recruitment of 2,000 more staff in addition to its 2,500-strong workforce.

Go Outdoors sells products such as bicycles, tents and waterproof clothing, and owns about 60 stores across the country.
JD Sports was unavailable for comment.

Close