Retail entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter has acquired the fashion retail chain Cruise, which entered administration this month. Hunter bought the ten-store chain from the administrators Deloitte for an undisclosed amount. All the stores are to continue to trade. It was reported that the Edinburgh-based chain was purchased by restructuring firm Hilco from HBOS earlier this month, and then subsequently entered administration before being snapped up by Sir Tom yesterday. The administrators had closed stores in Dundee and Livingstone, while stores in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast, Derby, Newcastle and Leicester were kept open. The buy-out deal, the value of which is understood to be approximately £5 million, was arranged at the time of the administration. Sir Tom was reputedly competing with JD Sports to make the purchase. A joint venture with the Van Mildert clothes retailer will see the ten stores continuing to operate and will "maximise opportunities in the luxury fashion industry". John Reid of Deloitte in Scotland commented: "This sale not only secures the future of the brand in the UK but also preserves over 300 jobs." Founded in 1981 Cruise sells a broad range of designer label brands, while Van Mildert began retailing clothes in 1996 from a converted 17th century prison in Durham.
