The Dragons’ Den investor Peter Jones has sold the photography retailer Jessops to the online electrical retailer AO World, more than a decade after he rescued the chain from administration. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

AO World announced the purchase in a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting. The company said it plans to integrate Jessops into its existing musicMagpie operations.

John Roberts, AO’s founder and chief executive, said: “I am delighted to welcome Jessops into the AO family and look forward to growing the existing business.”

Jessops operates a small collection of high street shops alongside an online service, Camera Jungle, which allows customers to buy and sell cameras and accessories.

MusicMagpie, which lets people buy, sell and rent used consumer technology, phones, games and media, was acquired by AO in 2024 for less than £10m. At the time of that deal, Roberts said musicMagpie’s trade-in service would support AO in scaling refurbished technology.

Jones acquired Jessops for £5m in 2013, following the chain’s collapse into administration. Under his ownership, the business reduced the number of its high street shops and built a larger online presence.

The chain has faced difficulties in recent years. In 2024, Business Matters reported that Jessops faced a winding-up petition from HMRC over unpaid taxes, at a time when its sales had fallen 7.5 per cent to £19.97m.

Jones spent nine years on Dragons’ Den, the BBC programme, during which he invested millions of pounds in start-ups including Levi Roots’s Reggae Reggae jerk sauce, Bladez Toyz and Boot Buddy, the shoe cleaning gadget. Earlier this year he bought the golf retailer American Golf from the private equity firm Endless.

Jessops was founded in Leicester in 1935 by Frank Jessop and grew rapidly under his son, Alan, as personal photography became more popular. It was sold to Bridgepoint Capital after Alan Jessop retired in 1996. Bridgepoint attempted to float the business twice before selling it to ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, for £116m in 2002.

Alongside the acquisition, AO said it expects revenue for the six months to the end of September to rise 5.5 per cent year-on-year. Pre-tax profit for the period is projected to reach about £21.5m, which the company said was underpinned by gains in its mobile and musicMagpie businesses.

Roberts said: “We’ve carried our momentum into the new financial year with continued growth against a sluggish backdrop in the wider UK retail sector.”

Despite the half-year performance, AO left its full-year profit guidance unchanged.

The update follows AO’s full-year results in June, when the retailer reported record profits of £50.5m and Roberts said Labour’s tax and wage policies had led the company to move 200 customer service jobs to South Africa.

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