Shoon acquired by former owners of Jones Bootmaker

Multichannel footwear retailer Shoon has been sold to footwear veterans Ken Bartle and Peter Phillips, the former owners of Jones Bootmaker. Bartle and Phillips have acquired the 10-store business, including its debt, from restructuring specialist GA Europe, for an undisclosed sum.

The duo are both long-standing footwear industry figures and have an established track record of backing successful footwear retailing businesses, including Stead & Simpson and Gordon Scott. Their most recent venture was the revival and expansion of Jones Bootmaker, which was acquired in 2009 and successfully sold to Macintosh Retail in 2011.

Commenting

on the purchase, Bartle said: “Peter and I have been admirers of the Shoon concept since its inception and have watched its recent progress with interest. We are confident that the business has enormous potential and this deal represents a very good outcome for the Shoon brand, our customers and staff.”

GA Europe supported a buy-out by Shoon’s management team out of administration in May 2012, providing funding for working capital, as well as taking a direct stake in the equity. The firm also assisted in restructuring the business, exiting from non-core categories such as clothing, as well as developing new channels including concessions, which it acquired in Windsor, Newbury, Northwich and Nantwich.

Shoon bought by Ken Bartle and Peter Phillips

Gavin George, GA Europe’s chief executive said: “We are delighted that Ken Bartle and Peter Phillips will be supporting Shoon in the next phase of its development. We’ve enabled management to re-platform the business and complete the heavy restructuring necessary in the two years post administration.

“Our investment in, and subsequent exit from Shoon successfully demonstrates our strategy of backing retail businesses where we can successfully apply our capital, specialist restructuring skills and leverage our extensive retail networks.”

Stephen Sanders, managing director of Shoon added: “We are delighted that, over the last 2 years, we have been able to revive the Shoon business and that we now have the backing of Ken Bartle and Peter Phillips, who have unrivalled expertise in the footwear sector. We look forward to the next exciting stage in our development.”

Shoon operates 10 stores in Bath, Brighton, Cheltenham, Guildford, Kingston-upon-Thames, Reading, Salisbury, St Albans, Tunbridge Wells and Winchester. It also has a significant online business, which is operated from the head office and distribution facility in Wells, Somerset.

Image: Shoon Cheltenham