Superdry announces restructuring plan
Superdry is launching a restructuring plan as it looks to ensure the survival of the struggling fashion business.
This will include an equity raise, slashing rents on some of its stores and delisting from the London Stock Exchange.
It follows Superdry’s previous announcement that it has been exploring various cost saving options as part of a broader turnaround plan.
In a statement today, Superdry said the equity raise will be fully supported by its chief executive and founder Julian Dunkerton and “will allow the company to benefit from significant cost savings associated with being listed and implement its turnaround plan away from the heightened exposure of public markets.”
Once completed, the restructuring is expected to result in rent reductions on 39 UK sites, the extension of the maturity date of loans made under the group’s debt facility agreements, and material cash savings from rent and business rate compromises over the three years of the plan.
Peter Sjolander, Superdry chairman, said: “The board has spent a lot of time engaging with Julian Dunkerton to come up with a plan which gives the business the best possible prospects for the long term while protecting the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders to the greatest extent possible.
“The business has faced extraordinary external challenges and, while good progress has been made on our cost saving initiatives, more needs to be done to get the business on a stable financial footing for the future.
“We believe that the proposed restructuring plan, combined with the equity raise fully supported and underwritten by Julian, is the best way to achieve this, together with a delisting which would further reduce costs and enable the business to progress the turnaround.
“While we recognise the compromises we are asking from some of our stakeholder groups, we would urge them to support the proposals which we believe are the best way of ensuring Superdry’s recovery over the long-term.”
