JD Sports move to buy Footasylum is blocked by the CMA

​The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it believed the move would "lead to a substantial lessening of competition".

It said the takeover would therefore "leave shoppers with fewer discounts or receiving lower quality customer service".

Kip Meek, chairman of the CMA inquiry group, said: "Our investigation analysed a large body of evidence that shows JD Sports and Footasylum are close competitors.

"This deal would mean the removal of a direct competitor from the market, leaving customers worse off.

"Based on the evidence we have seen, blocking the deal is the only way to ensure they are protected."

JD Sports said it disagrees with the CMA's final report, saying that it "materially fails to take proper account of the dynamic and rapidly evolving competitive landscape" in which the retailers operate.

Peter Cowgill, executive chairman of JD Sports Fashion, said: "We fundamentally disagree with the CMA's decision, which continues to rely on an inaccurate and outdated analysis of the UK sports retail competitive landscape, and is underpinned by outdated and flawed customer surveys.

"At the same time, incredibly, the CMA has been taken in by the self-serving testimony of one notoriously vocal competitor, who has made numerous public announcements confirming their ongoing investment in their elevation strategy and who has blatantly participated in the process for their own commercial interests rather than for the benefit of consumers.

"When the CMA published its provisional findings in February, we said at the time that they demonstrated a complete misunderstanding of our market to an alarming extent.

"Today, and equally frustratingly, in the midst of a global pandemic and with the UK high street in a state of complete lockdown, the CMA's final decision is even more absurd."