Fashion retailer Superdry has opened a new asset backed lending (ABL) facility with its lenders as sales for the first quarter slumped due to the ongoing pandemic.
In an update to the City this morning, Superdry said it had agreed the £70m new lending facility with its existing banks and extended the repayment terms until January 2023.
The retailer said the new loan would be “subject to a number of financial covenants and the borrowing base will vary throughout the year dependent on the level of the company’s eligible inventory and receivables”.
Superdry said that it currently has £57.8m net cash on its balance sheet, compared with £39.8m net on May 7 and just £2.1m on August 6, 2019, pre-coronavirus.
The retailer also updated the City on trading for the first quarter, saying that while it had been “better than our initial expectations”, the ongoing pandemic had still materially impacted the business.
Total group sales for the period were down 24.1% year on year, largely due to the impact of store closures as a result of the virus.
While 95% of Superdry stores have since reopened, the retailer said store revenues were down 58.1% year on year, which equated to a 32.3% like-for-like decline.
Superdry said it was “pleased” with the performance of its ecommerce arm during the period, with online sales up 93.2%.
Chief executive Julian Dunkerton said: “The actions we have taken to date have greatly strengthened our cash position, which together with our new ABL facility give us the flexibility to execute our current plans and to secure our recovery.
“Together, we are making our way through this unprecedented period, and I’m confident we can reset the brand and deliver on our transformation plans.”
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