Sports retailer JJB Sports has snapped up Qube Footwear for £1 from West Coast Capital.

JJB bought the 22-store chain from West Coast Capital, the investment vehicle of Scottish billionaire Sir Tom Hunter, adding to its footwear strength following its acquisition of The Original Shoe Company, which it bought last year.

JJB chief executive Chris Ronnie said: “The acquisition of Qube is a further step in our strategy of accessing the sports lifestyle market, while maintaining our strategy of being ‘serious about sport’ within our core JJB retail stores.

“Qube is a rapidly growing business with excellent potential, which we believe will complement our recent acquisition of Original Shoe Company and reinforce our presence in this area of the market.”

Spokesman for West Coast Ewan Hunter said: “This continues the rationalisation of our portfolio; however we remain committed to the retail and property sectors for the long-term.”

In January, Sir Tom Hunter sold his clothing and footwear chain D2 in a multimillion-pound management buy-out. The entrepreneur also agreed to sell his 29.2 per cent stake in garden centre chain Dobbies to Tesco this week. The sale came after Hunter failed to mount a legal battle against the supermarket giant over a£150 million rights issue.