New Look buys 34 Littlewoods shops

Young fashion retailer New Look has acquired 34 Littlewoods stores from ABF for£11 million.

The acquisition adds 350,000 sq ft (32,515 sq m) of trading space to New Look's growing portfolioe.

New Look chief executive Phil Wrigley said: 'This is a great deal and enables us to bring the New Look brand to more customers. The transformation process is on track - in a two-year period our space will have increased by approximately 50 per cent.'

Retail analyst Richard Ratner at Seymour Pierce said: 'This is a sensible acquisition.'

New Look has 541 stores in the UK and 211 stores in France, trading under the Mim fascia. In this country, New Look has a 4.5 per cent share of the womenswear market and sits in third place behind Marks & Spencer and Next.