New Look was owned by private equity groups Apax Partners and Permira, and founder Tom Singh,[4] until May 2015 when it was acquired by Brait SE (SA) for £780 million.

[5] Since then the company has expanded and previously operated across a chain of over 900 shops internationally, having opened in Ireland in 2003,[6] Belgium in 2006, and also having had a presence in France, the Netherlands, Romania, Malta, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, China, Germany, Russia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Poland, and having had a staff of over 18,000.

[9] The subsequent investigation revealed an extensive catalogue of failings relating to fire safety precautions and measures.

[17] In February 2025, the High Court of Ireland appointed provisional liquidators to New Look's Irish operations after substantial losses over the previous four years.

[18] The company was criticised in late February 2025 for refusing to accept its own gift vouchers during its closing-down sale.