Next rescues Joules from administration, saving 100 shops and 1,450 jobs
Fashion retailer joins Joules founder in last-minute 41m deal, but 24 stores will close
Next has teamed up with the founder of the collapsed fashion chain Joules to rescue it from administration in a 41m deal that will save about 100 shops and 1,450 jobs.
Sources said Next placed a last-minute bid in the early hours of Thursday morning, trumping one placed by South Africa's Foschini Group, the owner of Hobbs and Whistles. Marks & Spencer and Mike Ashley's Frasers Group are also thought to have taken an interest in Joules, which is best known for its jackets and patterned wellington boots.
Carmarthen
Cheltenham
Chichester
Edinburgh
Exeter
Gateshead
Lyme Regis
Newbury
Northcote Road, south London
Oxford
Peak Village, Derbyshire
Peterborough
Reigate
Salcombe Fore Street
Sherborne
Southwold Little Joule
St Davids
Waterloo station, London
Watford
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