Frasers Group, the business empire founded by Mike Ashley that owns House of Fraser and Sports Direct, has joined to save Missguided from collapse.
The company has acquired the assaulted online retailer for £ 20 million, saving 147 jobs in the process.
However, 87 staff members were fired when the company collapsed on Monday.
Frasers Group has bought all the related intellectual property of the women’s fashion brand, but Missguided clothing suppliers say they still owe millions of pounds.
Michael Murray, the head of Frasers Group and son-in-law of Mr. Ashley said: “We are excited to ensure a long-term future for Missguided, which will benefit from the strength and scale of the FG platform and our operational excellence.”
She added: “Missguided’s digital approach to the latest trends in women’s fashion will bring additional experience to the wider Frasers group.”
Teneo administrators were appointed earlier this week after the company received a liquidation request from clothing suppliers to whom they owe money.
About 140 jobs were thought to be at risk, and The Guardian quoted a source as saying more than 80 people had been fired on Monday.
Boohoo, a larger online fashion retailer, had been in talks to buy Missguided in a prepack administration deal.
JD Sports and ASOS are also believed to have shown some interest, but no agreement was reached.
Missguided was founded by Nitin Pass in 2009 when she was just 26 years old and became one of the largest online fashion stores in the UK, competing with ASOS and Boohoo.
However, his journey was not without serious difficulties, including in 2017 when one of his Leicester-based suppliers was charged after a covert investigation into paying workers less than the minimum wage.
In 2019, he faced scrutiny for the sale of a £ 1 bikini, but responded by saying that the garment “had cost us more to produce than £ 1 and we are absorbing the costs to be able to offer it to an amazing price as a gift to our customers “.
Missguided opened a handful of physical stores, including one in London’s Westfield Mall, but decided to close them after deciding that their operating losses were too great to justify.