UK Retailer Next ups Stake in Reiss as Warburg Pincus Exits

Britain’s Next agreed on a deal to raise its stake in upmarket fashion chain Reiss Group to 72 percent from 51 percent, after the retailer teamed up with the Reiss family to buy Warburg Pincus’s shares for £128 million ($162 million).

Next, one of the UK’s biggest clothing chains has added a number of well-known brands to its stable in recent years, including parts of retailers such as Cath Kidston, Joules and Made.com.

Following the latest deal, the Reiss family’s holding will rise to 22 percent, and the management team will hold 6 percent.

Next said on Friday that Reiss had performed “exceptionally well” since it first invested in March 2021, and as such, it decided to snap up the stake being sold by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

In the 12 months to the end of January, Reiss’s sales rose 26 percent year-over-year to £325 million, while pre-tax profit was 51 percent higher at £52 million.

Reiss’s online operations are contracted to Next through its Total Platform business, which also provides warehousing and distribution services to Reiss, helping drive Reiss’s growth overseas.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, Next said.

By Sarah Young; Editor Sachin Ravikumar

Learn more:

Next Raises Profit Outlook on Better Weather, Consumers’ Wage Hikes

British fashion retailer Next on Monday raised its sales and profit guidance for the year, saying trading had exceeded expectations on the back of warmer weather and a wages boost for consumers, sending its shares higher.