Christo Wiese, the South African billionaire who is thought to be worth more than £2 billion is planning to launch a new fashion retailer in the UK, targeted at mothers and children. The team he has assembled includes the former boss of Asda, Andy Bond, who it is thought will lead the project. Other members of the team include Catherine Haydon, who was head of merchandising at M&S and Adrian Mountford, who previously worked for Matalan and Sainsbury’s. The company which is called Pepkor UK Retail Limited, is reportedly using the codename Project 50 because it plans to open 50 new discount fashion stores under the brand within two months of its launch.

With an already competitive market, Pepkor will be facing challenges against discount stores such as Matalan, Primark and TK Maxx, and established high street names such as Next and M&S.