Agent Provocateur Bought By Sports Direct

BRITISH lingerie label Agent Provocateur has been bought by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley. The sale, rumoured earlier this week, was confirmed this afternoon in a statement from the brand, which reported the sale to Ashley's investment company, Four Holdings - which also controls menswear labels including Stone Island and Paul & Shark.

"We are delighted to welcome Agent Provocateur in to the FourHoldings business," Charles Perez, CEO of the Four Holdings Group, said today. “The global status of this brand provides significant opportunities and we are excited to begin working to further grow the brand equity

The company entered administration, but was sold in a so-called "pre-pack" deal before an administrator had been appointed, BBC News reports. It is thought that Ashley paid around £25 million for the company - which was founded in the Nineties by Vivienne Westwood's son Joseph Corré and his then-wife Serena Rees.