Canterbury sold to British firm for $16.5m

Photo / Dean Purcell

One of New Zealand's oldest and most famous brands has been snapped up by a giant British retail chain.

JD Sports says it has paid £6.5 million ($16.5 million) cash for Canterbury of New Zealand. The deal follows weeks of speculation about the future of the brand after the announcement last month that its European arm had been placed in administration, and all its sponsorship deals with top European sports teams had been severed.

Yesterday, the parent company was placed in receivership as part of a complex deal in which its former owners quit the investment.

However, its New Zealand manager, Scott Chapman, hailed the deal as a positive move for the company that would ensure it would be business as usual in Australia and New Zealand.

Chapman said it was fantastic the new owner was involved in the apparel industry, and understood sportswear brands.

"It's certainly shown great commercial nous in running apparel businesses, so from our perspective we're hugely excited."

KPMG receiver Shaun Adams said the Australasian division had been doing "reasonably well".

"We've been working hard ... to try to preserve this iconic brand. I'm pretty chipper about it, to be honest."

Line 7 owner Ross Munro has strengthened his links with the brand, taking over as the sole Australasian licensee. Munro has had his own problems to deal with, after Line 7 also went into receivership in June.

The two companies are separate, and he said yesterday the Canterbury sale would not affect a different deal he has with the company to make Rugby World Cup 2011 merchandise.

JD Sports has 400 retail outlets in Britain and recently made its first move overseas with the acquisition of French sports footwear retailer Chausport. Last month it bought a 48 per cent stake in KooGa, a rugby brand linked with the McPhail family, which has a long association with the sport in New Zealand.

KooGa is one of Canterbury's rivals and sponsors the Fijian and Tongan rugby teams, as well as several local teams and ex-All Blacks Carlos Spencer and Bruce Reihana.

JD Sports' main owner, Pentland Group, controls several sports and fashion brands including Speedo, Ellesse and Lacoste footwear.

It is listed on the London stock exchange and because information about the sale is commercially sensitive, Canterbury staff have so far been unable to talk about it with the teams it sponsors, including the Black Caps, Warriors, Wallabies, Queensland State of Origin and eight Air New Zealand Cup rugby teams.

The Herald revealed last month that Canterbury has been losing money ever since it was bought by American-based New Zealander David Teece, and his partners, in 1999.

The New Zealand operations made a small profit, but all its other subsidiaries lost a hefty amount of money.

In recent years its main owner has been a Bahrain-based private equity fund owned by a Kuwaiti bank.

The bank also has a stake in the Radius Health Group and Woosh Wireless.

RUGBY LINKS
* Founded in 1904.
* Made All Black jersey for 75 years.
* Still makes jerseys for Wallabies, Springboks and Scotland.