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UK retail insolvencies fall back month on month but Golden Quarter will be crucial – report

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October 20, 2025

Some positive news as the Golden Quarter arrives: UK retail trade insolvencies fell 7% to 171 in August from the previous month (184). Not so positive is that trade insolvencies did rise 25% year-on-year from 137 in August 2024.

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The figures come from audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK, which said the summer holiday’s trading uplift was supported by better weather and back to school “derailing the uptick in insolvencies seen in July”.

Gordon Thomson, restructuring partner at RSM UK, added: “On the surface [the latest August findings] are positive, but some struggling retailers could be hanging on to see what the Golden Quarter brings to turn the tide of distress.”

He said: “The first half of the year showed encouraging signs of an uptick in consumer spending, but the second half of the year brings higher inflation and Budget uncertainty, which has the possibility to suppress consumer confidence. This could put the brakes on spending, as seen in the second half of 2024, so retailers could be entering a more challenging trading period.

“One silver lining is that consumers have been saving to make the most of higher interest rates so they may choose to dip into these savings to bolster discretionary spending during the Golden Quarter.

“If the Budget avoids hitting people’s pockets, bolsters retail investment to support growth and doesn’t spike inflation any further, then we could see a boost to consumer confidence at just the right time.”

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Over+Above’s new chapter and campaign highlight the human side of performance training

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December 11, 2025

In a crowded sports performancewear market, it’s important to have a strong message. So the Over+Above (O+A) brand is entering a new chapter with the tagline ‘Redefining Performance Wear for Body and Mind’.

Image: Over+Above

The online retailer’s ‘performance-first’ brand (‘created by athletes, for athletes’) is presenting a campaign to “renew its mission” by introducing ‘Freedom in Mind’ as a “bold creative campaign that signals a decisive evolution for the brand: performance isn’t only physical, it’s deeply human”.

This new chapter also marks the start of a series of ambassadorships, with ex-England rugby union captain Chris Robshaw joining in a creative partnership with endurance athlete and brand ambassador Ryan Libbey, “whose personal fitness journey and alignment with O+A’s values inspired the collaboration”.

The first of the campaign films was shot in the Peak District, following Libbey as he trained for an Iron Man challenge, “capturing not only the physical demands but also the emotional depth behind performance training”. 

Through his journey, O+A “delves into the highs and lows of sport”, namely the vulnerability, setbacks, discipline, and breakthroughs, “experiences that the brand’s CEO, ex-England cricketer Matt Prior, and its ambassadors “understand intimately”.

At the heart of the campaign sits the ‘Director’s Cut’, “a more personal, direct, and fluid interpretation that weaves these layers into one cohesive narrative”.

At the core of the brand’s innovation lies its “market-leading” ProPrio product range that has been “anatomically engineered with patented kinesiology-inspired technology” that claims to have “already set a new benchmark in performance and compressionwear”.

The range includes full tights, half tights, calf sleeves, long-and short-sleeve tops and racquet sleeves, at oaperformance.com in sizes XS to XXL.

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Club L London powers ahead in latest year as it grows globally

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December 11, 2025

Womenswear brand Club L London has been expanding fast in recent periods and that can be seen from its newly-released 2024/25 results that saw profit before tax jumping 51%.

Club L London

For the 12 months to March this year, its turnover rose to £65.9 million from £44.4 million, a 48% leap.

Meanwhile gross profit rose as much as 62% to £37.8 million from £23.4 million, and the aforementioned profit before tax was up to £14 million from just under £3.1 million a year earlier.

Profit margins rose from 6.9% to 21.1% and net assets also grew significantly, from £9.1 million to £16.6 million, “reflecting the brand’s strengthened financial position and its capacity to continue investing in growth initiatives”.

Its net profit for the year rose to £10.38 million from £2.57 million.

The company said the performance was primarily driven by the brand’s strategic expansion into international markets and targeted investments in infrastructure and technology. 

The US delivered 90% growth, Australia 83%, and the Middle East an “exceptional” 417% increase year-on-year. Europe also experienced saw triple-digit growth, “supported by an expanding international customer base and carefully executed localisation strategies across Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia”.

The company launched localised webstores as part of this process “with end-to-end translation and cultural adaptations to ensure a seamless and locally relevant customer experience”.

Meanwhile, the opening of a dedicated US 3PL facility has improved delivery times — something that’s vital for European businesses aiming to crack the US market —  as well as strengthening logistics capacity, and improving the overall customer experience.

Marketing chief Dan Sorensen said: “Following on from key infrastructural investments made previously, we’ve been able to scale profitably both domestically and internationally giving us an opportunity to serve our customers better across all borders.”

During the year in question and since it ended, the company has been extremely busy. Just before the latest financial year finished, it acquired Lavish Alice for an undisclosed seven-figure sum, “uniting two leading, legacy brands”.

Then in July, it launched a localised German website and in September launched on Middle Eastern e-commerce platform Ounass. 

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Will Frasers Group relaunch Matchesfashion next year?

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December 11, 2025

It looks like Frasers Group may be planning to relaunch Matchesfashion in 2026 although it’s not a dead cert and there’s been no confirmation from the company.

Matchesfashion

A report said the Matchesfashion.com website was back online with the words “relaunching 2026” under the name. But the situation is unclear as all that’s there as we published this story was an almost-empty page in the brand’s familiar green tone with no mention of a relaunch date.

A relaunch wouldn’t exactly come as a shock, although the speed with which Frasers had earlier closed the business did surprise some.

Frasers acquired the business out of administration for a reported £52 million just before Christmas 2023 but put it into administration in March 2024, citing the enormity of the task to turn it around. 

Matches — which began as a physical retailer — had been one of the pioneers of luxury online retail and once had a valuation of around £800 million. But a succession of CEOs failed to turn it into a digital-first business that was able to make a profit.

Its struggles came at the same time as other pioneers such as Farfetch and Net-A-Porter encountered their own profitability problems.

But despite the problem with online luxury real, the big names in the sector remain valuable properties with a high profile. Coupang’s acquisition of Farfetch and LuxExperience’s purchase of Yoox Net-A-Porter highlighted how in-demand they are.

As for Matchesfashion, there had been rumours of a comeback for it and in May, The Times reported that Frasers was working on a “members-only Matches Fashion relaunch” and that it had seen an “internal pitch deck” suggesting the luxury fashion webstore could be turned into what it described as the “Soho House of retail”.

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