African investment heavyweight Brait SE said it will pay $1.2 billion for virtually all of budget clothes retailer New Look, giving it a substantial presence in Britain’s fiercely competitive fashion retail market.

The deal puts Brait, whose top shareholder is South African retail mogul Christo Wiese, in the middle of the crowded British high street, where New Look vies with Primark, part of AB Foods, Next and H&M.

New Look, owned by private equity groups Apax and Permira, as well as founder Tom Singh, has 600 stores in the UK and Ireland and trades from a further 200 across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia including China where it wants to expand.

It is the second big deal in a month for Brait, one of Africa’s largest investment houses which is also buying fitness chain Virgin Active.

Johannesburg-listed Brait has stuck with its strategy of investing in private companies, including British supermarket chain Iceland Foods and South Africa’s Premier Foods, the biggest maker of local staples such as maize meal and bread.