Sports Division was one of the biggest sports retailers in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. In 1998, it was sold to its main competitor, JJB Sports for approximately £295m. In 1984, it was set up by Sir Tom Hunter, to sell trainers. Sir Tom started out selling trainers from the back of a van, subsequently borrowing £5,000 from his father and £5,000 from RBS to set up Sports Division. In 1995 Tom Hunter along with business partner Philip Green purchased larger rival Olympus Sports from Sears and merged them into the Sports Division brand.