Reports: Endless beat out Sports Direct to take over American Golf

Endless have beaten out bids from others including Sports Direct to buy American Golf – the UK’s biggest specialist golf retailer – says report from Sky News

According to Sky News, turnaround investor Endless have struck a cut-price takeover deal with American Golf ‘through a pre-pack administration’, beating out Sports Direct owner Mike Ashely.

Endless, whose other investments include The Works and Menzies Distribution, have reportedly agreed to pay less than £10m for the business, which will include 112 of its 132 stores across the UK and Ireland.

Sky reported a fortnight ago that Sun European Partners, who bought American Golf in 2012 from LDC, were looking for buyers.

It seems it was Endless who won out though, securing the transaction of the chain retailer which will safeguard about 900 jobs across the county. Sky reported that it is expected to be announced to staff later on Friday.

History of American Golf Ownership

Sun European Partners bought American Golf in 2012 from LDC in a time of growth. However, in more recent years have put problems with performance down to a decrease in participation and weather-related issues. 

There was a restructuring of the company in 2015, which they had said at the time was to “maintain the confidence of its supplier, credit insurers and other key stakeholders”, and later said in accounts ending in January 2017 that UK participation in the sport had “decreased‎ around 8.9% in 2016, following several successive years of decline”.

Sky News also reported that American Golf’s advisers at Deloitte “had told potential buyers that its performance has been hit by weather-related problems both during the extended cold snap earlier this year and then the warmer-than-usual summer.”

“Accounts for the year to January 2018 have yet to be filed at Companies House.”