Frasers Group adds to Studio Retail stake

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 3, 2022

Less than a year after it cut its stake in Studio Retail from nearly 36% to around 27%, Frasers group has now increased its stake again, although only by a small percentage.

And unlike some stakes that Frasers chief Mike Ashley has bought in retail businesses in recent years, he should have made a healthy profit here as the share price was significantly more than double its current level when he sold the stake in May last year. 

Studio Retail shares have fallen in recent days following a profit warning, which means he'd have picked up his new stake at a much lower price.

Frasers now has a holding in Studio Retail approaching 29%. It's unclear how much the company paid for the new shares but the price fell on Monday from £1.59 per share to be less than 93p at one point. Now, the shares have risen to over 117p, perhaps due to the news about the Frasers buy that was released on Thursday.

It's not necessarily a sign that Ashley is thinking of buying the business, as he’s well known for acquiring chunky-but-minority stakes in a number of retail companies. He also has major holdings in Hugo Boss and Mulberry.

However, it does perhaps signal that the share price fall following its profit warning was overdone and that while Studio Retail is facing a number of challenges at this moment, its long-term prospects are much brighter.