New Look to restructure to cut rents and debts
SHAREWATCH
HIGH street retailer New Look has launched a major restructuring of its finances to reduce its costs after sales were hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The company said it is asking landlords to accept new lease contracts on its stores which are based on turnover as it battles the “challenging retail market environment”.
It said it will launch the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposal to help bring down its rent and “safeguard 12,000 jobs” at the business.
New Look said 459 of its 496 stores have reopened but it has reported a 38% fall in like-for-like store sales since reopening due to the “continued impact of Covid-19 on footfall”.
The retailer said it has also now launched a sale process as it looks to determine interest from investors
AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
AvonRbbr ..................................... £351/4 BAE Systems ...................................... 534 Chemring ....................................... 257 1/2 Meggitt ................................................ 296 Rolls-Royce .................................... 257 1/8 Senior ..................................................... 51
AIM
600 Group ............................................... 8 Highland Gold Mining .............. 293 3/8 Johnson Service Grp .................... 99 1/8 London Security ............................... £21 M”S Intl ................................................ 117 Nichols ......................................... 1242 1/2 Scapa Grp ........................................... 116 Youngs .............................................. 1050
BANKS
Barclays .......................................... 1091/4 HSBC Hldgs ................................... 341 1/4 Lloyds Banking Gp ............................ 29 NatWest Group ............................ 115 3/4 Standard Chartered ................... 421 7/8
BEVERAGES
Barr (AG) .............................................. 435 Diageo ................................................. £26
CHEMICALS
Croda International .................... £59 1/2 Elementis 98 ................................... 73 5/8 JohnsnMat ................................... £233/8
CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS
BalfourBeatty .............................. 2311/4 C”R”H ................................................... £30 Costain .............................................. 57 1/2 Marshalls ........................................ 660 1/2
ELECTRICITY
Drax Gp ............................................... 290 SSE ..................................................... 1302
ELECTRONIC & ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
Morgan Advanced ........................... 247 Ox Instmts ....................................... 1560 Volex ..................................................... 158 -3/8 -1/4 -7 1/2 -3 3/4 -10 5/8
-3 5/8 -4 7/8
+10 -5 3/8 -10
+1 1/8 -2 1/2 -1/4 +1 -1 1/2
-5 -1/2
-7/8 +1/4
-1/2
-13 3/4 -5/8 -1 -10 1/2
-4 -17 1/2 -1 +50 +2 for its shares and assets.
New Look said its restructuring will also see it inject £40m of new funds to help drive growth, while it will also slash its current debts from £550m to £100m through a debt-forequity swap deal.
Nigel Oddy, chief executive of New Look, said: “As has been the case for many retailers, New Look’s financial position has been significantly impacted by Covid-19, and over the past five months we have had to take a number of tough but necessary decisions and actions to manage the impact this has had on our business and our people.
“As a result of taking decisive measures to preserve and maximise
EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS
Aberdeen D I & G Trust ............... 93 3/8 Alliance Trust ..................................... 807 Dunedin Inv ....................................... 254 Edin Invst ............................................ 473 Electra Private Equity ................ 180 1/4 F&C Investment Trust ..................... 694 Henderson Smllr Cos ...................... 793 North American Inc ........................ 234 Scot Am ............................................... 428 Scottish Mortgage .......................... 885 Witan ............................................... 189 3/8
FIXED LINE TELECOMMUNICATIONS
BT Grp .................................................. 108 Talktalk Telecom ............................ 77 1/2
FOOD & DRUG RETAILERS
Morrison (WM) ............................ 195 1/4 Sainsbury ....................................... 189 7/8 Tesco .................................................... 228
FOOD PRODUCERS
AB Food ............................................ 1960 Carrs Group ........................................ 137 REA Hldgs ............................................. 59 Tate Lyle ......................................... 682 5/8 Unilever .......................................... £45 3/8
GAS, WATER & MULTIUTILITIES
Centrica ............................................ 46 5/8 National Grid ................................ 891 3/4 Pennon Grp ..................................... 1058 Severn ............................................. £25 1/8 United Utils ................................... 894 3/8
GENERAL FINANCIAL
3i Group ......................................... 922 3/4 Close Bros ........................................ 1156 London StockExch ...................... £86 3/8 Man Group .................................... 131 1/8 Provident Financial .................... 181 3/8 Schroders ...................................... £30 1/4 Schroders NV ................................ £20 7/8
GENERAL INDUSTRIALS
Smith (DS) ..................................... 278 1/8 Smiths Grp ................................. 1420 1/2 +1/2 -8 -5 -6 -8 1/4
-17 +4 +2 -21 1/2 -1 3/8 -1/2
-1 -1 1/2 -7/8
-23 +2 -2 -5 3/8 -3/8
-1 -12 3/8 -16 -3/8 -13 3/4
-3 3/8 -11 -1 3/8 -2 1/2 +1/2 -1/4 +1/8
-2 -48 liquidity since the onset of the pandemic, we have maintained our cash position through the lockdown period, and this has also in part been helped by strong online trading.
“However, current trading remains impacted by the decline in footfall seen right across the retail market, and with the pandemic
GENERAL RETAILERS
Dixons Carphone .......................... 87 7/8 Inchcape ........................................ 4885/8 Kingfisher ...................................... 2681/4 M&S ............................................... 1127/8 Mothercare ........................................ 5 5/8 Next ................................................. £59 1/2 WH Smith ...................................... 984 1/2
HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SERVICES
Smith Nph .................................. 1566 1/2
HOUSEHOLD GOODS
Barratt Devel ................................ 511 3/4 Bellway ........................................... £24 1/8 Persimmon .................................... £25 3/8 Reckitt Benckiser ........................ £74 3/8 Taylor Wimpey ............................. 120 1/4
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
I”M”I ................................................... 1049 Molins .................................................. 158 Renold ................................................... 10 Spirax-Sarco ............................... £106 5/8 Weir Grp ........................................... 1342
INDUSTRIAL METALS
Ferrexpo ......................................... 198 1/4
INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION
Signature Avi ................................ 272 3/4
LIFE INSURANCE
Aviva ................................................ 288 3/4 Lgl & Gen ....................................... 226 1/8 Prudential ................................... 1256 1/2 Standard Life Aberdeen ........... 266 1/4
MEDIA
Daily Mail & Gen Tst ........................ 679 ITV ...................................................... 62 1/4 Pearson ........................................... 610 1/4 Reach ..................................................... 56 RELX ................................................... 1722 STV Group .......................................... 210 WPP ...................................................... 625 -3 1/8 -16 3/8 -4 3/4 -2 1/8 -3/8 +1/2 -22 1/2 -25 1/2
+1 -1/4 +1/4 -3/4 +3/4
-21
-1/4 -2 7/8 -16
-2 -3 3/8
-4 1/4 -2 3/8 -11 1/2 -4 7/8
-14 -1/2 -15 1/4 +1 -45 -4 1/2 -6 3/4
MINING
Anglo American ....................... 1879 1/4 Antofagasta .................................... 1105 BHP Group ...................................... 1816 Fresnillo ............................................ 1223 Kaz Minerals ...................................... 567 Rio Tinto .............................................. £47
MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Vodafone Group ......................... 118 5/8
NONLIFE INSURANCE
AdmiralGrp .................................. £267/8 Marsh McL ..................................... £89 1/2 RSA Ins Gp ..................................... 448 1/4
OIL & GAS PRODUCERS
BP ..................................................... 292 5/8 Cairn Energy ...................................... 141 Premier Oil ...................................... 35 5/8 Royal Dutch Shell A ................. 1171 3/8 Royal Dutch Shell B ................. 1131 3/8 Total ................................................. £30 1/4 Tullow Oil ......................................... 25 1/4
OIL EQUIPMENT & SERVICES
Petrofac .......................................... 178 1/4 Wood Gp(J) ................................... 215 3/4
PERSONAL GOODS
Burberry Gp ............................... 1399 1/2 PZ Cussons .................................... 201 1/2
PHARMACEUTICALS & BIOTECHNOLOGY
Astrazeneca .................................. £833/4 GlaxoSmithKline ...................... 1535 3/4
REAL ESTATE
Brit Land ......................................... 366 1/4 Hamrsn ............................................. 50 7/8 Land Securities ................................. 570 SEGRO ............................................. 963 1/4 -1 5/8 -34
-4 3/4 -3/8 +2 1/4
SOFTWARE & COMPUTER SERVICES
Computacenter ................................ £20 Sage Group ................................... 740 3/4 ongoing and social distancing measures in place for the foreseeable future, it remains difficult to accurately forecast the sales recovery rate.
“New Look is a brand that has inspired tremendous loyalty over the past 50 years and has earned its place as one of the UK’s leading -38 3/4 -3 -9 -35 1/2 -13 5/8
-1/2
-1 1/2 +1/8 -3 5/8
-8 1/2 -1 -1/4 -31 3/4 -29 -1/2 -3/8
-9 3/4 -3 3/4
-22 -5 -1/4 -20
SUPPORT SERVICES
Bunzl ............................................... £23 7/8 Capita ..................................................... 37 Connect Group .............................. 19 3/4 De La Rue ............................................ 152 Elctro Com .......................................... 706 Electrocomp ...................................... 706 Experian ......................................... £27 3/4 G4S ................................................... 146 1/4 Hays ................................................. 121 3/4 Homeserve ...................................... 1332 Menzies J ....................................... 124 1/4 Redde Northgate ............................. 250 Rentokil .......................................... 529 5/8 Travis & P ..................................... 1165 1/2
TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE & EQUIPMENT
IBM ................................................... £95 5/8 Spirent Comms ............................ 288 1/2
TOBACCO
Br Am Tob ...................................... £25 1/4 Imperial Brands ........................ 1274 1/2
TRAVEL & LEISURE
Carnival .......................................... 9783/8 Compass Grp .................................. 1195 easyJet ............................................ 570 3/4 FirstGroup ........................................ 40 1/8 Go-Ahead Gp ............................... 660 1/2 Intercontl Htls .............................. £41 1/2 Intl Cons Airl ................................. 194 1/2 Marston’s ............................................... 50 Mitchells & Butlers ...................... 170 3/4 Natl Express .................................. 149 1/4 Rank Org ........................................ 137 5/8 Restaurant Grp .............................. 53 3/4 Ryanair ......................................... 1042 5/8 Stagecoach Group ....................... 50 3/4 Whitbread ..................................... £24 1/2 William Hill .................................... 135 1/8 -5/8 -1 -1/4 +2 -11 1/2 -11 1/2 -1/2 -2 1/2 -2 3/8 -18 +2
-8 3/4 -25 +3/8 -2
-5/8 -10
-1 5/8 -18 1/2 -40 -1 1/4 +10 1/2 -3/4 -9 7/8 -1 1/2 -3 3/8 +1 3/4 +1 5/8 +1/8 -49 5/8 +1/8 -7/8 -1 7/8
INDEX FTSE 100 .......................... 6090.04 -95.58 FTSE 250 ........................ 17735.62 -188.97
womenswear retailers.
“We are confident in our plans to build on these strong foundations with our revitalised broad appeal product ranges, and this transaction will allow us to secure our future for the benefit of all stakeholders as we navigate the post-Covid-19 landscape.”