UK-based retail conglomerate Frasers Group — which owns Flannels, The Webster, and Sports Direct — has acquired ailing British department store Harvey Nichols for an undiclosed sum, the company announced today. The acquisition includes Harvey Nichols’ portfolio of six stores including the newly refurbished Knightsbridge London flagship, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, and Edinburgh, together with its online business, existing inventory and over 1,000 employees, Frasers confirmed.
In July this year, Harvey Nichols — which hasn’t posted a profit since 2019 — told potential investors to submit bids between £50-60 million to continue its recovery plan. Suitors that expressed interest included Frasers, Next, and Modella Capital (owner of Hobbycraft and TGJones, formerly WHSmith). But Frasers Group, which has been on an M&A sweep over the last year, has completed the deal.
“Harvey Nichols is an iconic British institution with significant potential, but it is clear meaningful change is needed,” says Frasers Group chief executive officer, Michael Murray. “The turnaround will require tough choices, and we are prepared to make those decisions, even if that means a smaller business in the near term, to create a stronger and more sustainable Harvey Nichols for the long term.”
Harvey Nichols owner Sir Dickson Poon purchased the retailer from Burton Group in 1991. But its current image is a far cry from the halcyon ’90s, when it was synonymous with glamour-laden sitcom Absolutely Fabulous and a favored haunt of Princess Diana, Kate Moss, and Marc Jacobs.
On August 7, Harvey Nichols filed an annual report detailing a post-tax loss of £177.6 million for the year ended March 29, 2025. Its prior posting in March 2024 showed a loss of £12.9 million after tax, following a £4 million loss the year prior, in the wake of Covid and the abolishment of VAT-free shopping for tourists.
In June, after retiring as a director for Harvey Nicols, Poon nominated FTI Consulting to source a buyer for the store, be it new investment or a full buyout.
Harvey Nichols appointed CEO Julia Goddard earlier this year, to help steer the retailer through the necessary turnaround. “Today marks an important milestone for Harvey Nichols and provides a strong platform for the next phase of the business’s evolution under the ownership of Frasers Group,” Goddard says. “Over the past year, we have made significant progress in repositioning this iconic business, investing in our flagship store, broadening our customer proposition, and strengthening the brand DNA. I look forward to working closely with Frasers Group to build on the momentum already underway, driving sustainable growth through greater operational efficiency and enhanced infrastructure, and continued investment into customer experiences to ensure Harvey Nichols remains a distinct and relevant luxury destination for both our customers and brands.”
Goddard also thanked her teams for the “commitment and resilience” they have shown throughout this period of uncertainty, which she believes have laid the foundations for the retailer’s next chapter.
Frasers has form in buying challenged retailers and brands. In December 2023, the group bought struggling e-tailer Matches for £52 million, and said it intended to return the business to growth. But after less than three months, Frasers announced that Matches would go into administration after it had “become clear that too much change would be required to restructure it”. Over 270 Matches employees were made redundant that next day.
Experts at the time suggested that Frasers had misanticipated the scale of the required turnaround. The retailer retained the Matches IP before selling it to newly established luxury group Hulcan, which is yet to announce its plans for the Matches brand.
With this cautionary tale in mind, brands sold at Harvey Nichols were reportedly opposed to a Frasers buyout. But the retail store shared in a memo that it was “obliged to allow Frasers Group to participate in the process alongside the other interested parties”.
