Athletic apparel and footwear powerhouse JD Sports has bought back the assets of its adventured-oriented Go Outdoors for £56.5 million ($70.7 million), putting the outdoor retailer into administration. As a part of the administration process, JD Sports will soon begin restructuring the unit. The onset of COVID-19 pandemic made future viability of Go Outdoors “materially uncertain” as it was forced to shut 67 stores on March 23. Hence, JD Sports’ board of directors decided it was not in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to provide continued financial support to Go Outdoors in its existing form.

A company statement states, the terms of the present property leases Go Outdoors had been locked in were extremely inflexible. Leases have an average remaining expiration period of approximately 10 years with rent prices that can either go up or stay the same, but never go down, which is designed to protect the landlord from unforeseen market circumstances. Many of the leases are fixed at rates above inflation regardless of the market rent in the stores’ locations.

With the company put into administration, its Peter Cowgill, Executive Chairman looks forward to have positive conversations with landlords and agreeing to new flexible lease contracts to reflect the widely reported challenges of reduced consumer footfall.