The Irish chain of 17 sporting goods stores was sold last week for a about €60 million to PCP One, an Irish investment consortium led by John Quinn. With the new financial backing of PCP, Champion Sports will begin an aggressive expansion plan, adding 10-15 of its large outlets over the next 3 to 5 years. Liam Cunningham, chief executive of Champion Sports, and Kristian Murphy, finance director, will remain in place along with the rest of the company’s management.
Most of Champion’s shares were previously held by two real estate and retail investment moguls, Paul McGlade and Paddy McKillen. The company was profitable before the sale, with a 10 percent return on revenues that have grown back to an annual level of about €75 million, the same as two years ago when it sold 11 of its stores to Foot Locker for a capital gain of about €3.7 million. It had been left then with only 14 outlets. Three more have been added since.
