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Published
Apr 30, 2013
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New Look hopes to raise 800 million pounds to reduce its debt

Published
Apr 30, 2013

The British clothing retailer has decided to issue 800 million pounds of bonds ($948 million) to finance its debt of 1.1 billion pounds, especially incurred after its aborted attempt to go public in 2010.

Owned by investment funds Apax and Permira, New Look's debt is now five times the amount of its operating profits. The goal for this issuance is to give Anders Kristiansen some breathing room. He was appointed chief executive at the end of 2012 as part of a reorganization of the retailer.
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NewLook.com


The first debt repayments will be due as early as 2015. And New Look currently has about 746 million pounds of high-risk PIK notes in debt, for which the interest rapidly compounds. The involved investors are expected to be repaid soon with a 50-50 mix of British pounds and new bonds.

This news comes just days after the announcement of the departure of Malcolm Collins. He had become one of the brand's pillars after sixteen years at the head of its footwear collections, one of the company's strongest product sectors across its various markets, including the United Kingdom.

The group is now the number two British retailer for clothing and accessories. New Look operates in more than 16 countries through a network of 1,411 stores, half of which are in the U.K. For its fiscal year 2011/2012, the company generated revenues of 1.75 billion euros (1.5 billion British pounds), down 2%.

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