Matalan sells jeans brand for £30.5m

Value retailer Matalan is selling its jeans brand for £30.5m. A consortium made up of Sun Capital, The 180 Group, and Emerisque Capital has paid £30.5m to acquire the Lee Cooper jeanswear business from Matalan. The brand has been on the market since last year after discount retailer Matalan decided to exit manufacturing to focus on its core retail operation. Sun Capital and the 180 Group are both private equity firms, while Emerisque is an investment vehicle specialising in acquiring underperforming mid market businesses in Europe.

Ajay Khaitan, current Chief Executive of Emerisque, will become CEO of Lee Cooper and has recruited a number of apparel professionals to join the existing Lee Cooper team.

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Khaitan said: “Lee Cooper is a global brand that has incredible authenticity and expertise in Denim. It is a leading denim brand in each of its markets. It also has a loyal consumer following, built up over many years by consistently delivering excellent quality products. The brand has been a strong and prevalent force in the marketplace for over 97 years, and my team looks forward to further evolving what Lee Cooper means to its current and new customers. We have significant plans for the company, and we are eager to begin our path into the future.”

The Lee Cooper brand is based in France, and is distributed in more than 40 countries. It dates back to 1908, and was acquired by Matalan in 2001.