Next ups Reiss stake with £128m purchase
Next has acquired private equity firm Warburg Pincus’ 34% stake in premium fashion retailer Reiss for £128m.
As part of the arrangement, Next’s holdings in the retailer will increase from 51% to 72%, whilst the Reiss family and its management team will maintain interests of 22% and 6% respectively.
Next first made an initial investment into the ‘quiet luxury’ brand in 2021, taking a 25% stake.
The news may come as a surprise, as it was reported in June that Next was considering a sale of its stake in Reiss in a deal worth £500m.
Under the terms of the deal, Reiss will continue to retain its own directors and its management, including chief executive Christos Angelides, will remain autonomous. However, its online operations will remain contracted to Next’s Total Platform.
Simon Wolfson, Next chief executive, said: “Reiss has performed exceptionally well since we first invested in March 2021. This success has been driven by the strength of its brand, first class management and the benefits of Total Platform; we look forward to continuing to develop the business with Christos and the Reiss team. Warburg Pincus has been an excellent partner throughout the term of our investment and we have enjoyed working with them during the last two years.”
London-based Reiss was founded by David Reiss in 1971, originally as a menswear brand. It now has 160 outlets across the world.