Shares in Ted Baker crept up on Monday morning as the group announced plans to acquire No Ordinary Shoes Limited from Pentland Group PLC.
The deal for both No Ordinary Shoes and No Ordinary Shoes USA will cost the group £13 million and is expected to boost earnings from the 2019/20 financial year onwards.
“I would like to thank Pentland for their hard work and ’Tedication’ over the last 17 years, during which they have been close friends of Ted Baker and trusted custodians of the brand,” said Ray Kelvin CBE, the founder and chief executive of the retailer.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Ted Baker to drive further growth in our footwear business by leveraging our global footprint and infrastructure, in line with our strategy to further develop Ted Baker as a global lifestyle brand.”
Richard Newcombe, global president of footwear division at Pentland, said: “It’s been a pleasure to have partnered with the Ted Baker team for the last 17 years.”
“Since becoming the Ted Baker footwear licensee in 2001, we’ve grown the footwear category by more than 800 percent and increased distribution from 60 retailer partners in eight markets, to over 200 in 28 markets. We have worked closely with the team at Ted to ensure our strategies are perfectly aligned, and that the product captures what makes it such a special and unique brand,” he added.
“We take pride in the role our team has played in the brand’s continued success, and we wish everyone at Ted Baker all the very best for the future.”
The Financial Reporting Council said it “led to the loss of KPMG’s independence in respect of the audits.”
“In addition, there was a self-interest threat arising from the fact that the fees for the expert engagement significantly exceeded the audit fees in the relevant years.”
Shares in the fashion retailer (LON: TED) are trading up 0.46 percent at 2.180,00 (1135GMT).