Frasers Group snaps up £3m worth of shares in Leicester firm
Shirebrook-based retail giant Frasers Group has turned its sights on Leicester online retailer Marks Electrical after snapping up £3m worth of shares.
The move gives Frasers a 6.4% stake in fellow listed firm Marks.
Earlier this month, the Leicester company issued a warning to investors that its EBITDA is likely to be £1m lower at £4m when it announces its full-year results. Profits for the six months to September 30 dropped by just under a half to £820,000.
Revenue grew by 9.3% to £58.8m, but this was hampered by a “significant” reduction in average order values (-9%) with the firm’s volume growth outstripping the pace of its revenue growth.
Frasers’ move comes just days before its big shareholder showdown with fast fashion retailer boohoo.
Frasers, the largest boohoo shareholder, is targeting a pre-Christmas meeting on December 20 to try remove Mahmud Kamani as executive chairman and install Mike Ashley as CEO and restructuring expert Mike Lennon to the board of boohoo, in a move it says will instil a “winning mentality” at the struggling online retailer.
