Debenhams collapsed last month with the loss of thousands of jobs, having struggled to adapt from a bricks-and-mortar business long before the coronavirus pandemic forced shoppers online.

Boohoo has acquired assets, including customer data, from outside administrators brought in to salvage parts of the business.

The cost of the deal is £55 million, Boohoo said in a statement.

It added that it plans to rebuild and relaunch the Debenhams online platform, as Boohoo looks to lead the fashion e-commerce market by entering into news areas including beauty, sports and homeware.

“Debenhams is a long-standing and leading UK fashion and beauty retailer with high brand awareness, and an established online platform with approximately 300 million UK website visits per annum,” Boohoo said.

“This makes it a top 10 retail website in the UK by traffic.”