The owner of Ireland’s biggest sports retailer has emerged as a contender to buy all or part of JJB Sports, whose trading and financial troubles have placed it on the brink of administration.
Sources say Dublin-based conglomerate Stafford Group, which is privately owned and turns over £400 million a year in areas such as sports retail, shipping and energy, will go head-to-head with Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct to snap up JJB assets at a bargain price.
Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United FC, is thought to be the commercial frontrunner for a deal, but would almost certainly face regulatory scrutiny in the UK as Sports Direct is the sports retailing market leader.
Other interested parties in the JJB assets are said to be Dick’s Sporting Goods of the US, GA Europe and Hillco.