Sports Direct Billionaire Mike Ashley Buys Harvey Nichols Out of Administration

LONDON —

Frasers Group, the retail conglomerate controlled by British billionaire Mike Ashley, has bought Harvey Nichols out of administration, according to Guardian Business. The deal came together on the same day the upmarket British department store chain was placed into administration after warning it could run out of money without new funding.

Sources told Guardian Business that Frasers paid roughly £40 million (about $50 million) for Harvey Nichols, which employs 1,200 people across 13 stores. The company is headquartered at its flagship store in London's Knightsbridge neighborhood, which opened in 1889.

Frasers is acquiring six of Harvey Nichols's British stores: the flagship in London plus locations in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Bristol, Guardian Business reported. Talks continue over the future of the chain's Dublin shop, though Frasers has already bought some of its stock and fixtures. Franchise stores in Riyadh, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait and two locations in Hong Kong will keep operating under existing licensing agreements, according to the BBC. The Oxo Tower restaurant in London that carries the Harvey Nichols name is not part of the deal and is being sold separately.

FTI Consulting, the firm that handled the administration, said the sale preserves more than 1,000 jobs, according to the BBC. Lindsay Hallam, a senior managing director at FTI Consulting, said the deal "secures more than 1,000 jobs and provides a strong platform for its next chapter."

A Chain Built for the 1990s, Now Facing a Overhaul

Harvey Nichols traces its roots to 1831, when it started as a linen shop. It became a symbol of 1990s consumer culture, famously name-checked in the British sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous." Businessman Sir Dickson Poon bought the chain in 1991 for £53 million and later listed it on the London Stock Exchange, according to Guardian Business. Poon put the business up for sale earlier this year after it failed to turn a profit since the COVID-19 pandemic cut off spending by foreign tourists. The company reported a £105 million after-tax loss for the year ending March 29, 2025, and its directors said it had no funding lined up and would run out of cash within a year.

Frasers said in a statement that "significant restructuring and integration of Harvey Nichols into the Frasers Group ecosystem will be required," including a review of its stores, staffing and costs. Michael Murray, Frasers's chief executive and Ashley's son-in-law, called Harvey Nichols "an iconic British institution with significant potential" but said "meaningful change is needed."

Ashley told the Financial Times last week that Harvey Nichols was in a "death spiral" and that turning it around would be a "huge challenge," according to Guardian Business. He has said he intends to keep the Knightsbridge and Edinburgh stores under the Harvey Nichols name but rebrand the other four British locations as House of Fraser or Flannels, both chains he already owns.

Retail analyst Richard Hyman told Guardian Business, "We can be certain that Harvey Nichols won't be the same, because being the way it was has racked up huge losses and that won't be tolerated by Mike Ashley." FTSE 100 retailer Next had also expressed interest in the chain but only wanted one or two stores, according to Guardian Business, making Ashley's bid the more attractive option to administrators.