Footasylum shares soar following JD Sports investment

Shares at Footasylum have surged 70 percent following the announcement by JD Sports that it had made an 8.3 percent stake in the business.

JD Sports said that it was prepared to increase its holding to 29.9 percent - the highest stake it can buy without having to make a bid for the firm - but it wasn’t prepared to buy the retailer.

“This share purchase is a strategic investment for the group, which has confirmed today that it is not intending to make an offer for Footasylum,” a JD Sports spokesman said. “By publicly disclosing this, and as set out in today’s regulatory announcement, the City Code on takeovers and mergers precludes JD Sports from making any such offer unless specific circumstances change.”

The news comes amid difficult times for Footasylum, who has published a string of disappointing results recently. In January, the retailer issued a profit warning following tough Christmas trading conditions, despite reporting a 18.5 percent rise in sales to 98.6 million pounds for the six months to 25 August.