The Foschini Group has announced that it has bought and acquired all shares at Whistles, although it hasn’t revealed the amount it paid.

Whistles is the South African group’s latest purchase, following its acquisition of Phase Eight in 2015. This adds 46 stores and Whistles’ ecommerce platform to its estate.

Chief executive of Foschini, Doug Murray, said: “Whistles is an iconic brand and we see enormous growth potential for the brand in the UK and also internationally. We have a management team in place on that side and will start working with the Whistles team from today.”

Figures for Whistles show a rise of 9% to £63million in full-year sales, whilst pre-tax losses were £2.4million. Whistles’ chief executive Jane Shepherdson, formerly of Topshop, is expected to continue in her role for the foreseeable future.