British clothing and homeware products retailer Next will acquire struggling international home furnishing retail company Cath Kidston for total consideration of £8.5m ($10.42m).
The company has entered an agreement to acquire the brand name, domain names and intellectual property of CK Acquisitions, the registered company behind Cath Kidston.
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Headquartered in London, UK, Cath Kidston is an e-commerce-led brand focused on British-themed handicraft and vintage-themed items.
The Guardian reported that the deal comes after Cath Kidston entered administration for the second time in two years. The four remaining Cath Kidston stores located in London, Ashford, Cheshire Oaks and York are expected to be closed permanently upon completion of the existing stock’s sale.
Cath Kidston’s joint administrators and partners of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Zelf Hussain and Rachael Wilkinson were advised by law firm Shoosmiths on the deal to sell the brand to Next.
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In a stock exchange filing, Next stated that it would be licensing the cathkidston.com domain back to the administrators for a period of up to 12 weeks to help clear the stock before the brand’s relaunch.
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By GlobalDataThe move is expected to result in job cuts affecting 125 employees currently with the brand.
Hussain said: “Cath Kidston is a well-loved lifestyle brand founded in 1993, and I am pleased to say that it has been bought by Next, who will make sure it continues to flower under their ownership.
“The company has over recent years navigated through incredibly challenging market conditions, including the pandemic restrictions, and most recently the decline in consumer spending driven by cost-of-living pressures and rising costs.”
Cath Kidston previously fell into administration in 2020 when it was acquired by Baring Private Equity Asia. The company was later acquired in 2022 by Hilco Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm Hilco Global.
