Agent Provocateur, the high-end lingerie chain popular with celebrities, is set to enter administration and could be snapped up by Sports Direct, according to the Financial Times.
The paper on Thursday reported that the discount sports retailer run by Mike Ashley would likely pay between £25m to £30m for the company which is currently owned by private equity group 3i.
According to the Financial Times, 3i last November wrote down the value of its 80 per cent stake in Agent Provocateur by £39m and restructuring company AlixPartner had been working with 3i to look at options for the group.
Agent Provocateur was founded by Vivienne Westwood’s son and is popular with celebrities including the Kardashians. But it has for years been suffering weak sales hit by a slow-down in luxury high street spending.
Earlier this year the Guardian reported that Lion Capital, the former private equity owner of La Senza and American Apparel, and Alteri, had been considering a bid for Agent Provocateur.
Sports Direct is recovering from a string of management and governance failures and was condemned by MPs last year for its treatment of workers, including paying some less than the minimum wage for shifts at its warehouse in central England.
