Castore, the sportswear brand backed by the likes of Andy Murray and the billionaire co-owners of Asda, has made its first acquisition since it was valued at almost £1bn.
The Manchester-headquartered company has snapped up Infinity Inc, a supplier of branded merchandise, clothing and uniform based in Leeds, for an undisclosed sum.
In a statement, Castore said the deal “strengthens its supply chain and enables greater speed to market when servicing both UK and international sporting partners”.
Castore was founded in Liverpool by brothers Thomas and Phil Beahon. Since then, it has relocated its head office and attracted investment from the likes of the Issa brothers, New Look founder Tom Singh, PureGym co-founders Peter Roberts and Brian Scurrah and Eric Fellner, the co-chairman of Working Title Films.
Other shareholders include John Treharne, the founder of The Gym Group and Arnaud Massenet, the co-founder of Net-a-Porter.
Infinity Inc was founded by CEO Darren Cohen in 1998 and was owned by him until the acquisition to Castore.
Phil Beahon, co-founder of Castore said: “We have long admired Infinity and have worked closely with Darren and his team over the years so know the quality of product they can deliver.
“We look forward to integrating the business with Castore but also continuing to service the wide array of customers already being serviced by Infinity.”
Cohen added“I am delighted to lead Infinity Inc into this exciting new chapter and partnership with Castore.
“With over 25 years of experience providing branding expertise, innovative solutions, and world class service, we look forward to supporting Castore with their vision to become the number one British sportswear brand.”
The deal is Castore’s first since it secured a £145m investment towards the end of 2023 which saw it valued at almost £1bn.
The money was provided by a number of investors including the Raine Group, Hanco Ventures and Felix Capital.
According to its most recently published accounts, Castore’s pre-tax profits jumped from £8m to £14.6m while its turnover surged from £48.8m to £115m in the year to January 31, 2023.
Its results for the 12 months to January 31, 2024, are not due to be filed with Companies House until the end of October this year.