Billionaire Mike Ashley's Frasers Group in talks to sell Missguided to Shein

Missguided, the Manchester-based fashion brand which was rescued by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group last year, could be sold to Chinese giant Shein.

The billionaire's retail empire is in talks with the online fashion group over a potential sale of the brand.

Frasers Group, whose brands also include Sports Direct and House of Fraser, bought Missguided out of administration for £20m in June 2022 after it racked up debts of over £80m.

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The brand was founded by Nitin Passi in 2009 and grew rapidly amid rising demand for online fashion.

However, the company was hit hard by surging supply costs, wider inflationary pressures and waning consumer confidence in the increasingly competitive market.

Shein was founded in China in 2012 and was recently valued between £53bn and £80bn.

The deal is expected to be announced in the coming days.

Missguided is not the only Manchester-based fashion company that Frasers Group is involved with.

It has been building up a sizeable stake in Boohoo over recent months, as well as snapping up shares in N Brown.

The group also acquired I Saw It First last year, two months after rescuing Missguided.

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