River Island lost nearly £125m in the year before it was rescued from the brink of collapse, but said it was already “seeing returns” on its restructuring plan.
New accounts filed with Companies House reveal that River Island posted a pre-tax loss of £124.3m, following a £32.2m loss in 2023. Turnover at the retailer decreased from £701.5m to £690.1m.
River Island said in a statement within the accounts: “Post restructuring plan, the group has a new and secure financing facility until 2028 with no cash interest servicing costs, a reduced store base with increased profitability per store, and a significantly reduced administration and distribution cost base.
“In parallel, the group has been executing a wider business transformation plan during 2025 to reduce costs, improve margins and increase sales. Together, these changes will allow the business to return to profitability.”
The fashion retailer had its restructuring plan approved by the High Court in August, which involved the closure of more than 30 stores and hundreds of job losses.
River Island also said rents at 71 locations would be negotiated, and some debts would be written off, along with head office redundancies netting expected annual savings of £8.1m, as part of the plan.
The measures were designed to align River Island’s physical presence with changing customer shopping patterns and improve the company’s financial position.
On the restructuring plan, the retailer said: “The business is already seeing significant returns on this strategy.
“Gross margin percentage is greatly improved, costs are significantly reduced and the underlying sales in the retail estate have returned to growth.”
“The directors expect a significant improvement in profitability for 2025 and are confident that the new funding, improved strategy and reduced costs and smaller and more focused store estate will all benefit the group’s trading.”
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