Next and a group of finance firms have snapped up JoJo Maman Bebe in a push for the baby goods retailer.
According to reports by the BBC, the high street behemoth has taken on 44 per cent of the firm’s shares, with the rest acquired by investment firms managed or advised by hedge fund Davidson Kempner.
As a result, founder Laura Tenison will be leaving the company after nearly 30 years of work.
She has previously said how proud she was of the company, expanding it “from a kitchen table start-up to being the UK’s leading specialist boutique mother and baby brand”.
The company has 87 stores across the country, and it is understood that Next will make a £16.3m investment into the brand.
The value of the deal has not been revealed, though Simon Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, said in a statement: “We are excited to see what can be achieved through the combination of JoJo’s exceptional product with Next’s infrastructure and Davidson Kempner as our investment partner.”
Next lowered its profit guidance by £10m last month after it stopped online sales in Ukraine and Russia.
The high street name also shrunk its sales guidance for the 2022/2023 year by £85m, a two per cent dip.
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