Next buys Lipsy for £17 million

Next has acquired Lipsy, the fashion brand with an annual turnover of £20 million, for an initial £17 million.

Done Deals

  • Melorio has acquired HB Group, a construction industry training provider, for £2.7 million.
  • PHSC has acquired Inspection Services UK, a provider of equipment testing services, for £2,00,000.
  • Edmund Bell, a Bradford-based supplier of fabrics to hospitals and universities, has been acquired by Redwood Distribution of Skelmersdale for undisclosed terms.
  • Volvere is to acquire certain assets of Interactive Prospect Targeting, a London-based marketing company with about 80 staff, for £1.3 million.
  • Dsicmm has acquired the direct communications business division of Dataforce for undisclosed terms, including print and polywrapping assets in Milton Keynes.
  • Camvac, a Thetford-based plastic packaging company with 114 staff, has been acquired by GIL Investments for undisclosed terms.
  • Morningstar has acquired Fundamental Data, a leading provider of data on closed-end funds in the UK, for £11 million subject to post-closing adjustments
  • UK-2 Group has acquired community-focused Web host Dotable for undisclosed terms, bringing with it more than 10,000 domains to the British hosting giant.
  • Centrica, owner of British Gas, has acquired Solar Technologies Group for £2.8 million.

Deals in the pipeline

  • UK plastics and fibre products firm Filtrona is to acquire US foam products company Lendell Manufacturing for $35 million (£19.8 million).
  • Japanese company Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp has agreed to buy a 9.9 per cent stake in UK-based Aberdeen Asset Management from existing shareholders for 20 billion yen (£107.5 million).
  • DGT Steel & Cladding, a Norfolk-based contractor with 150 staff, has gone into administration through PricewaterhouseCoopers, and a buyer is being sought.
  • Cattles is said to be looking to sell its Manchester-based invoice finance division.
  • Flint Group is to acquire Russell-Webb, a Hertford-based printing consumables manufacturer, in order to expand its Day International division.
  • Apollo Management’s Hexion Specialty Chemicals unit said it received US and European antitrust clearance for its proposed takeover of Huntsman Corp.

Marc Barber

Marc Barber

Marc was editor of GrowthBusiness from 2006 to 2010. He specialised in writing about entrepreneurs, private equity and venture capital, mid-market M&A, small caps and high-growth businesses.

Related Topics

Early Stage Funding