Sports Direct have acquired ailing Evans Cycles and immediately state intent to close half of the stores.

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Sports Direct, owned by billionaire Mike Ashley, have finalised a buy-out of Evans Cycles. Evans Cycles put themselves up for sale back in September. Other parties, most notably Halfords, were in the running but pulled out.

According to a report from the BBC, Evans Cycles was put into administration and then Sports Direct purchased the company.

Mr Ashley confirmed intent to close half of the current Evans Cycles stores. There are currently 62 stores with around 1,300 employees. Hundreds of jobs will inevitably be lost.

Mike Ashley: “In order to save the business, we only believe we will be able to keep 50% of stores open in the future.”

Property firm CBRE, who are advising Sports Direct: “We are looking forward to working with landlords in order to help create a sustainable business. We will make contact with landlords over the next few days and discuss the future of individual stores.”

How did Evans Cycles end up in difficulty? Matt Callaghan from advising accountancy firm PWC: “A combination of losses, the capital expenditure requirements and tightening credit has led to a liquidity crunch.”