Superdry’s landlords are to bear the brunt of a painful restructuring of the fashion retailer as it prepares to outline a survival blueprint with the backing of its founder.
Sky News has learnt that Superdry is preparing to publish a formal restructuring plan as soon as Tuesday that will entail steep rent cuts at a large proportion of its 94 British shops.
City sources said the chain was not expected to announce plans for the permanent closure of any of its UK shops, although they pointed out that landlords would have the option of terminating Superdry’s leases if they were dissatisfied with the terms of the deal.
The scale of the proposed rent cuts will be determined by each store’s financial performance, they added.
Superdry’s suppliers, meanwhile, are not expected to face swingeing terms in the restructuring proposal.
One cautioned that the launch of the restructuring plan could be delayed by a day or two.
The Cheltenham-headquartered company’s survival bid, which will require the approval of its creditors, comes after weeks of talks about a takeover by Julian Dunkerton, its founder, were aborted.
Superdry said last month after the take-private discussions ended that it remained in negotiations with Mr Dunkerton “in respect of alternative structures, including a possible equity raise fully underwritten by Julian Dunkerton, which would provide additional liquidity headroom for the company’s turnaround plan”.
“It is expected that any equity raise would be at a very material discount to the current share price.”
Shares in Superdry have been under relentless pressure in recent months as the scale of its financial challenges has been exposed.
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On Monday, they were trading at around 8.95p, giving the indebted company a market capitalisation of less than £9m.
It recently agreed increased borrowing capacity with Hilco Capital, one of its existing lenders, while it also owes tens of millions of pounds to Bantry Bay.
Mr Dunkerton, who in 2019 returned to the company having previously been ousted, owns just under 30% of the shares.
In recent months, Superdry has raised cash by offloading its brand in regions including India and Asia-Pacific.
Late last year, its shares sank to a then-record low after it blamed abnormally mild autumn weather for weak sales.
Superdry declined to comment.