Boohoo Group (AIM:BOO ) said in its trading statement for the three months ended 31 May 2020 that it now expects revenues to grow around 25% this current financial year after the group snapped up online businesses, Oasis and Warehouse today for £5.25m.
The online fashion retailer agreed to acquire the businesses and all associated intellectual property from Hilco Capital which acquired the two brands out of administration in April.
Both Oasis and Warehouse closed its website and all stores and concessions at the end of last month, after administrators failed to find a buyer, resulting in 1,803 redundancies.
The acquisition adds to the group’s growing list of brands including the recently acquired Karen Millen and Coast which were also bought out of administration in August 2019.
In line with previous acquisitions, the company said it would integrate Oasis and Warehouse with its own ecommerce platform “allowing both brands to benefit from the group’s insight, infrastructure, supply chain and operating model.”
As revealed by Sky News last night, the price being paid for the two brands is believed to be "considerably less" than the £18 million Boohoo paid for Coast and Karen Millen.
Shares in Boohoo Group were trading 8.45% higher at 422.5p on Wednesday morning.
Boohoo’s said revenues came in at £367.8m for the first quarter of its financial year in the three months to May 31 2020, a 45% increase on the same 2019 period last year.
The group attributed the surge to online shoppers during the coronavirus lockdown. Out of the 45% leap, UK sales were up 30% to £183m, while its second biggest market, the US, was up 79% to £92m.
The group noted that the boohoo, Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal brands all saw “strong underlying growth”, while its newest brands including MissPap, Karen Millen and Coast “continue to trade strongly” after being integrated onto the group’s online platform last year.
Despite the uncertain backdrop of the pandemic, the group said it had delivered a strong gross margin performance, up 60 basis points year on year to 55.6%.
"During unprecedented and challenging times, the Group has delivered a very strong trading and operational performance,” said John Lyttle, Chief Executive of Boohoo Group.
“Whilst there is a period of uncertainty within the markets in which we operate, the Group is well-positioned to continue making progress towards leading the fashion e-commerce market globally,” he added.
The group said it remained confident in its medium-term guidance for 25% sales growth per annum and a 10% adjusted EBITDA margin, which it said remains unchanged.
Follow News & Updates from Boohoo GrouBoohoo Group here: