Shares of Next PLC (LON: NXT) gained around 2% on Tuesday after the company announced it formed a joint venture with Victoria’s Secret UK.

After several months of speculation, the British clothing and footwear retailer will be taking over the majority of the assets of Victoria’s Secret UK business. The new JV will save more than 500 employees from losing their jobs.

Victoria’s Secret UK branch entered administration on June 5, putting more than 800 jobs at risk. Under the agreement, Next will hold a 51% stake in the venture while Victoria’s Secret will have 49%. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This means that Next will run all of Victoria’s Secret stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The lingerie company has 25 leasehold sites and more than 800 staff in the UK. Upon entering the administration, most of the staff were on furlough no redundancies were announced.

Lord Simon Wolfson, CEO of Next said his company is “very pleased at the prospect of working in partnership to expand Victoria’s Secret”.

Victoria’s Secret online UK branch is currently run by Victoria’s Secret in the US and will turn into the joint venture in 2021.

A few months ago, Next was competing with another UK retailer, Marks & Spencer, to acquire the UK branch of Victoria’s Secret.

Next stock price gained around 2% to trade above GBX6100. The bulls are now targeting a move above GBX6232, which would mark a new 6-month high for the stock. Shares have recovered around 70% of coronavirus-related losses from March and April.

Scalpers could try to take advantage of a potential move to GBX6232. A break of this resistance line is likely to generate a “buy” signal on NXT stock given the importance of this technical leve. In this case, the next target on the upside is GBX6500.

The UK clothing and footwear retailer Next has come to an agreement with Victoria’s Secret UK branch to form a joint venture, a deal which will prevent over 500 employees from losing their jobs.

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