Republic fashion chain sold to private equity firm TPG

The high-street fashion chain Republic has been sold to TPG, a US private equity firm, for £300m, signalling the likely rapid expansion of the business across the country. TPG plans a significant increase in the number of stores in the chain, which currently has 103 shops across the UK and sells brands aimed at a younger market, such as Diesel, Miss Sixty and G-Star. Formerly known as Texas Pacific Group, the California-based TPG will be hoping to repeat the success of the J.Crew youth fashion chain in the US, which increased fourfold in a decade under its ownership. The deal will also bring a substantial windfall for Republic's current owners, Change Capital Partners, the investment vehicle run by the former Marks & Spencer bosses Luc Vandevelde and Roger Holmes. It became a majority shareholder in Republic when it backed a £105m management buyout in October 2005. Republic's co-founders, Tim Whitworth and Carl Brewins, are also thought to have received multimillion-pound windfalls from the sale. However, the pair, who retained a 40% stake in Republic after its purchase by Change Capital, are understood to have reinvested in the chain, and will continue to work at the group. Put up for sale by Change Capital in April, Republic had sales of about £200m in the year to the end of January. The group was launched in Leeds in 1986 as a men's denim retailer, before branching out to become a "house of brands". It has expanded rapidly since 2005, when it had 70 stores, and its underlying profits have tripled during the past three years to £33.5m for the year to the end of January. Its website is believed to be the second biggest-selling multi-brand site after Asos.com.