The acquisition costs relate to the acquisition of Phase Eight, as well as TFG bulking up its presence in the UK with the acquisition of upper-end fashion retailer Whistles in March this year. TFG joined the growing list of retailers seeking growth in offshore markets. During the reporting period, TFG saw its total sales grow by 31.2% and excluding the impact of Phase Eight it achieved retail sales growth of 11.6% with comparable sales growth of 5.7%. The company's overall gross margin has improved from 47.3% to 49.7%, mainly due to the higher Phase Eight clothing margin. Said TFG CEO Doug Murray: "Phase Eight has met our expectations and all our strategic targets that we set for the year and good progress has been made with the integration of this business. We plan to open at least 50 more outlets this financial year." Phase Eight has more than 100 standalone stores and outlets in department stores such as John Lewis, Debenhams, and House of Fraser.