Overview
- Mario Maher and Joe Wilkinson acquired the Matches and Raey intellectual property from Frasers in an undisclosed deal and folded the assets into their Hulcan group.
- Hulcan has raised $150 million from investors including Frasers Group, Palm Angels founder Francesco Ragazzi, PagsGroup, LVMH Luxury Ventures and the Hermès family.
- Matches and in-house label Raey are slated to return in 2026 under a curated model the founders describe as the polar opposite of off-price.
- Under Frasers, Matches was put into administration after a £52 million purchase, leading to more than 270 redundancies and about £50 million owed to vendors.
- Rebuilding supplier trust and proving a viable luxury e-commerce model are central challenges, with detailed relaunch plans to be set out in the New Year.