N Brown stock slumps 10% as PPI claims spike

Shares in N Brown fell as much as 10% after the fashion retailer said it would set aside another 20-30 million pounds in provisions relating to the mis-selling of payment protection insurance as it saw 10 times the average volumes of claims in August.

The company said its full-year net debt is expected to be in the range of 460 million pounds ($566.86 million) to 490 million pounds, up from a prior forecast of 440 million pounds to 460 million pounds.

A surge in claims leading up to the August 29 deadline for consumers to complain about what is now considered Britain’s costliest consumer banking scandal had caused UK’s big banks Lloyds, Barclays and RBS to set aside additional provisions this month.

N Brown shares were down 7% at a five-month low of 102.8 pence by 0709 GMT.