British sportswear brand Gola, which recently celebrated its 120th birthday, has been sold to a Japanese conglomerate.
The Lancashire-based Jacobson Group, which owns a portfolio of footwear brands, has agreed to sell to the Tokyo-listed group Marubeni for an undisclosed sum.
Gola’s signature trainers have been worn by famous faces from Paul Weller of The Jam to Noel and Liam Gallagher.
On Wednesday the Japanese firm said the Jacobson Group, which bought Gola in 1996, would be integrated into its lifestyle platform and sold through its US footwear subsidiary RG Barry.
‘The acquisition of Jacobson Group advances the platform architecture we’ve been building and comes at a particularly exciting time, fueled by Gola’s rapidly expanding market resonance,’ Shana Randhava, president of Marubeni Consumer Platform US (MCPU).
Jacobson Group owns a portfolio of footwear brands including Gola and Frank Wright, along with licensed brands Dunlop and Lonsdale, which it supplies to most major retailers.
The family firm has capitalised on growing demand for retro trainers, particularly in the US which is now its biggest market. In 2024, Jacobson Group said Gola had ‘enjoyed strong momentum… with archive re-releases of popular styles including the Elan and Tornado performing exceptionally well’.
In September, it said it was on track to deliver record-breaking results with expected revenue growth of over 40 per cent.
It will add to fears that more British firms are being snapped up by foreign buyers, following recent announcements by listed firms.
Tony Evans, chief executive of Jacobson Group, told the BBC that the firm had been looking for investment ‘to take the brand forward’
‘It allows us to help and develop our business in the US through having a bigger footprint there and it helps the RG Barry business operate in the UK and Europe… I think it’s a good news story of inward investment with regards to a Japanese company seeing value in heritage brand portfolio we have.’
He noted that there are ‘unique challenges’ of operating in the UK, which is ‘the most challenging’ market compared to western Europe and the US.
However, he added that ‘nothing will change… [and] if anything, it will create more jobs in the UK because the footprint isn’t moving anywhere.’
