Under 21 Invest, Karrimor purchased Lowe Alpine's distributor Europa Sport, also acquiring Europa's existing distribution rights for other manufacturers. The purchase was anticipated to boost Karrimor's group revenues, already £19 million, to a peak at around £30 million, and propel the company into second place in the UK footwear market and also consolidate its position within sports and leisure products. However 21 Invest and Parsons found they strongly disagreed about the company's future plans, leading to "very severe" problems. A 2001 article states of this period that: ""venture capitalists attempt[ed to turn its products into a fashion range, and in early 1998 Parsons was forced out. "We had very severe problems at the end. But there were no successors and we had already taken venture capital in, so once you've done that you're one step closer to selling the business anyway"". 21 Invest ultimately reported a substantial return on their investment, having focused on Karrimor's existing retail stores (initially branded 'Karrimor' and from 1999 Mountain Warehouse) and international sales, before selling Karrimor's core business onward in 1999 to South African leisure group Cullinan Holdings; 21 Invest also exited Mountain Warehouse three years later in 2002.