Sports Direct paid $10 million for Evans Cycles purchase

Sports Direct International Plc, the sportswear group controlled by billionaire Mike Ashley, said on Wednesday it had paid 8 million pounds ($10.2 million) to buy Evans Cycles after it fell into administration.

Sports Direct, which plans to keep half of Evans’ 62 stores open, also said about 2 million pounds of the acquisition price was used to fund Evans Cycles’ October payroll.

The company has added to an already lengthy list of British investments by buying Evans Cycles on Tuesday.

Britain has seen a string of retail collapses this year and Ashley, who also owns English Premier League soccer club Newcastle United, bought department store group House of Fraser for 90 million pounds in August.

Administrators PwC said Evans had been the victim of a “liquidity crunch” which reflected losses, capital expenditure requirements and tightening credit.

In August Sports Direct bought department store group House of Fraser for 90 million pounds, while earlier this month it spent 95 million pounds buying the freehold of the Frasers store in Glasgow.
It also owns a raft of stakes in other UK retailers, including nearly 30 percent of Debenhams.

97-year-old Evans Cycles employs around 1,300 people and Sports Direct “welcomed” the cycle retailer’s staff, adding that it would build “mutually beneficial relationships” with Evans Cycles’ main suppliers.

Shares in Sports Direct, down 15 percent over the last year, were up 2.03 percent at 327.6 pence at 1547 GMT.