Superdry warns of administration if rescue plans fail

Struggling Superdry has revealed plans for a fundraising and restructuring, warning that failure will mean it faces administration.

The fashion retailer, which has 94 shops and is run by co-founder Julian Dunkerton, confirmed a story by Sky News on Monday when it said that the three-year restructuring deal would result in cash savings from rent reductions at 39 underperforming UK sites.

It would also allow the extension of the maturity date of loans made under its debt facilities with Bantry Bay and Hilco.

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The planned restructuring was dependent, however, on the fundraising being completed.

Superdry said there were two options on the table for the equity raise – the sale of new shares – to be fully underwritten by Mr Dunkerton.

They were by an open offer to raise the sterling-equivalent of €8m (£6.83m), or a placing to raise gross proceeds of £10m.

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The fundraising required current shareholder approval, the company added.

Mr Dunkerton, who owns just under 30% of the shares, had been exploring the possibility of making an offer for all the shares he does not already own and taking the company private, but he abandoned the idea last month.

Superdry said the fundraising would still allow the company to delist from the London Stock Exchange this summer.

Its market value has collapsed, hitting record lows since late last year when it warned of tough trading ahead of Christmas amid a continuing cash crunch. Superdry admitted on Tuesday that sales remained strained.

Shares were down by more than 28% at one stage on Tuesday in the wake of its announcements.

It gave the company a market capitalisation of just under £8m.

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Superdry’s statement said: “The Plan Company believes that, unless the Restructuring Plan comes into effect, it will need to enter administration and other companies in the Group will need to enter into administration or an equivalent insolvency process.

“This outcome would leave creditors, including the creditors whose claims would otherwise be compromised by the Restructuring Plan, materially worse off than they would be under the Restructuring Plan.”

AJ Bell’s head of financial analysis Danni Hewson: “Once something of a market darling as it rode a wave of consumer demand for its faux-Japanese stylings, Superdry has been firmly out of fashion with investors and is set to delist as part of a rescue plan which will see landlords take some of the pain.

“Under the proposals, with CEO and founder Julian Dunkerton leading a fundraising effort, the company will cease trading on the London stock market from July.

“Currently changing hands for little more than 5p, at its 2018 heights the shares traded around £20.

“The hope will be the company can restore its ailing brand to health out of the glare of the public markets.”

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