MIKE Ashley’s Frasers Group is expanding into trampoline parks and mini- golf after buying a stake in leisure group We Do Play.
Frasers, which runs Sports Direct and House of Fraser, said it will be the firm’s first move into the UK leisure market.
The company has acquired an undisclosed minor investment in the business, which runs brands including Flip Out trampolining centres and Activate interactive and live gaming venues.
Frasers said it plans to launch more than 40 Activate sites across the UK in the coming years after successful openings in London and Newcastle.
We Do Play also runs the Putt Putt Social and Rumble Rooms brands.
It comes amid a period of rapid growth for UK leisure operators, with consumers spending more at experience-based venues.
Frasers Group chief acquisition officer James France said the move “marks a milestone in our strategy to diversify and create more dynamic consumer and leisure experiences”.
He went on: “We Do Play’s innovative brands align perfectly with our vision for a modern, experience-led consumer ecosystem.
“Together, we look forward to bringing these brands to more communities nationwide.”
This is a bold leap for Frasers, which has been on a buying spree in recent years.
Earlier this month it scooped up online tech retailer EBuyer.
LEWIS TOYLIST
JOHN LEWIS has unveiled its Top 10 Toys for Christmas 2025, featuring a mix of nostalgic classics and modern must-haves.
Items on the retailer’s list include the Brio Mega Spiral Set (£124.99), a Lego Minecraft The Creeper (£34.99), a Sylvanian Families Skytop Fairy Castle (£59.99), and a cuddly Steiff Jimmy Christmas Teddy bear (£39.90).
A John Lewis spokesman said: “The variety on offer this year is unrivalled.”
BIG WATER BILL
TROUBLED Thames Water is set to pay £24.5million of its record £122.7million fine by the end of September, following a deal with regulator Ofwat.
The penalties, issued in May for failures in sewage treatment and unjustified dividends, will not come from customer bills.
The other 80 per cent hinges on finances, as it scrambles to raise funds and teeters on the edge of temporary nationalisation.
TOT SLEEPING BAG DANGER
MORE than 30 baby sleeping bags posing suffocation risks are being sold on online marketplaces such as Ebay, Etsy and Amazon, a Which? probe found.
Hooded designs and those lacking armholes are among those failing to meet British safety standards.
Sue Davies, of Which?, said: “Our previous investigations showed this is part of a wider pattern: unsafe products are removed, only to resurface. It’s outrageous.”
She said the only way to break the cycle was to hold offenders legally accountable, with tough penalties for failures.