First-round bids for Footasylum are due in this week as JD Sports races to offload the high street chain before the summer.
Bids are expected from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, private equity firms and turnaround investors. Industry sources said Footasylum boss Barry Bown could also front a management buyout.
JD Sports acquired Footasylum for £90m in 2019 but was ordered to dispose of it after a lengthy investigation by the Competition & Markets Authority. The regulator ruled that JD Sports must dispose of the chain by the end of June.
Footasylum has 65 stores and made an underlying £21m profit in the year to January.
