Acquisition is expected to create up to 100 jobs

Fashion retailer Yours Clothing of Peterborough is to create up to 100 jobs after a £8 million acquisition of the renowned women’s clothing chain Evans.

The asset purchase agreement for the 93-year-old Evans will involve the opening of a new warehouse in Peterborough for the rapidly expanding Yours Clothing business.

Andrew Killingsworth, founder and chief executive of Yours Clothing, said: “I am thrilled at the acquisition of Evans. This is not an insignificant business – it is very well known worldwide

Yours Clothing founder and chief executive Andrew Kiliingsworth, who has just acquired women's clothing chain Evans for £8 million.

placeholder image — Yours Clothing founder and chief executive Andrew Kiliingsworth, who has just acquired women's clothing chain Evans for £8 million.

"Evans was one of just a couple of fashion retailers when I began selling clothes from a market stall.”

Mr Killingsworth said that one of his priorities would be to hold online meeting with Evans’ customers to find out what they wanted from the currently ailing brand.

Peterborough-based fashion retailer Yours Clothing expands its operations with p...

He said: “I have the Evans’ customer database and will be talking to customers as I want to know what they think went wrong with Evans, what they want from the brand and how we can put it right.

"I will be looking at how to revitalise this brand and make it what it should be.”

The sale of the Evans’ brand, intellectual property and customer base by its Australia-based owner City Chic Collective to AK Retail Holdings – the owner of Yours Clothing – was formally announced on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The deal will also involve the closure of Evans warehouse in the UK.

It states: “Under the agreement AK Retail Holdings will pay City Chic a total cash consideration of £8 million. Net of transaction costs, which include the closure of City Chic’s UK warehouse, the consideration is about £6.4 million.”

The deal, which took about eight to 12 weeks to complete is the latest in a number of acquisitions by the Yours Clothing owner, which also owns BadRhino and Pixiegirl.

Last year, Mr Killingsworth, who was named Peterborough Business Person of the Year at last year’s Peterborough Telegraph Business Excellence Awards, bought the Scottish clothing brand M&Co in February last year.

That followed the acquisition of the speciality women’s brand Long Tall Sally in August 2020 which created 30 jobs.