Pentland Group
| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Sports, footwear, apparel |
| Headquarters | Finchley, London |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Website | www |
Pentland Group plc is a privately held, global brand management British company, involved in the sports, outdoor and fashion markets. Based in Finchley, north London, it is owned by Stephen Rubin and family. It had sales of £973 million in 2007, making it the 42nd largest private company in the United Kingdom.
The success of Pentland Group can be traced back to August 1981 when Pentland Industries acquired 55% of Reebok for US$77,500. By 1983/84, Reebok accounted for 70% of Pentland's turnover. Pentland's shares rose from GB£0.55 at the start of 1984 to GB£3 by the end of the year and up to GB£10 in June 1985, while profits rose from GB£1 million in 1983 to GB£12.9 million in 1985. Pentland then listed 60% of Reebok in a flotation valuing the company at US$300 million.
Stephen Rubin joined Pentland at the age of 21, working for his father. He later became chairman and chief executive of Pentland, remaining so until 1998 when he split his role and appointed his son, Andrew, chief executive.
Pentland was taken private in 1999 to focus on longer-term investments. However, it appears that City institutions were unhappy with the way Rubin was running the company, which underperformed the market by 40% since it floated in 1989.
The Group’s brand management division, Pentland Brands, now comprises a portfolio of brands covering sports, outdoor and fashion. It manages owned brands such as Speedo, Canterbury of New Zealand, Berghaus, Brasher, Mitre, Prostar, Boxfresh, KangaROOS and Red or Dead; and also operates, under global licenses, the footwear of Lacoste and Ted Baker, and Kickers in the UK. Pentland is also a minority shareholder for other brands including Hunter Boot Ltd, Heidi Klein and Butterfly Twists.
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