In January 2017, Rowan appointed Danielle Davies as the Chief Financial Officer of Footasylum. In November of the same year, Footasylum floated on AIM and in March 2019, JD Sports reached an agreement regarding the business’ acquisition for £90 million.
The strategic acquisition would enable both businesses to take advantage of opportunities that were not yet readily available to them. Footasylum retails “on-trend” products aimed at fashion-conscious 16 to 24 year olds and sources its stock from an extensive number of third party and own brands.
However, the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) ruled against the deal on the basis that shoppers would be worse off. At the time, JD Sports Executive Chairman, Peter Cowgill, stated that the ruling was “absurd”.
Yet this afternoon, the Competition Appeal Tribunal has rescinded the CMA’s decision to prevent the group from acquiring Footasylum. The CMA will now reconsider the full case and JD Sports will no longer be forced to divest the Footasylum business.
