Frasers Group Acquires Luxury E-tailer Matches at a Significant Loss for Apax Partners

The acquisition, part of Frasers' strategy to expand into luxury markets, sees Matches CEO Nick Beighton retain his position amidst challenges in the high-end fashion e-tailer industry.

Frasers Group, owned by Mike Ashley, has acquired luxury e-tailer Matches for £52 million ($63 million USD), marking a significant loss for Matches’ private equity backer Apax Partners, which bought the company at a $1 billion USD valuation in 2017.
Matches’ current CEO, Nick Beighton, will remain in the top seat and will work closely with the Frasers team to develop a strategy to build on the underlying strength of the business.
Frasers Group's acquisition of Matches is part of their strategy to elevate into more luxury markets under CEO Michael Murray’s leadership.
Matches has faced challenges in scaling its business model and expanding its consumer base, which has led to annual losses.
The sale of Matches is indicative of the difficulties being faced by high-end fashion e-tailers, with Farfetch narrowly avoiding bankruptcy earlier this month and Yoox Net-a-Porter's fate uncertain after a deal to merge with Farfetch fell through.