Shoon bought by former owners of Jones Bootmaker Ken Bartle and Peter Phillips

Bartle and Phillips have acquired the 10-store business, including its debt, from restructuring specialist GA Europe.

The established footwear figures have formerly backed shoe retailers Stead & Simpson and Gordon Scott and most recently Jones Bootmaker, which they sold to Macintosh Retail in 2011, sharing in a £40m windfall.

Bartle said: “Peter and I have been admirers of the Shoon concept since its inception and have watched its recent progress with interest. We are confident that the business has enormous potential and this deal represents a very good outcome for the Shoon brand, our customers and staff.”

GA Europe supported a buy-out by Shoon’s management team out of administration in May 2012. It invested in restructuring the business, including reviewing its store portfolio, scrapping non-core categories and developing new channels including concessions, which it bought in Windsor, Newbury, Northwich and Nantwich.

GA Europe chief executive Gavin George said:“We are delighted that Ken Bartle and Peter Phillips will be supporting Shoon in the next phase of its development. We’ve enabled management to re-platform the business and complete the heavy restructuring necessary in the two years post administration.

“Our investment in, and subsequent exit from Shoon successfully demonstrates our strategy of backing retail businesses where we can successfully apply our capital, specialist restructuring skills and leverage our extensive retail networks.”