Matalan recently appointed a new chief executive, Henrik Nordvall, after the retailer’s previous boss quit
Clothing retailer Matalan has secured a £25m funding boost from its investors despite facing falling revenue and job losses last year. The firm’s core investor group – Invesco, Tresidor, Man Group and Napier Park – have committed the funding to accelerate the retailer’s plans to revamp its stores.
The funding boost comes despite the retailer shedding almost 200 jobs and recording a pre-tax loss of £67m last year, according to its most recent Companies House filings. If drawn down, the funds will be used to pile investment into Matalan’s products, stores and digital platforms.
The company is mounting a renewed focus on strengthening its “everyday style” appeal, it said, as it tries to drive its market share. Matalan recently appointed a new chief executive, Henrik Nordvall, after the retailer’s previous boss quit after less than two years in charge.
The group said its store refresh programme is bearing fruit, after its third-quarter financial results notched two per cent like-for-like sales growth. Matalan said its upgraded stores outperform the rest of the brand by 12 per cent.
The new finding will be used to revamp a further 40 stores and to increase investment in seasonal products to boost the retailer’s takings in key trading periods, it said. The retailer was also handed a £25m funding package by its investors last year, as part of plans to open ten new stores each year.
Matalan’s investor group took over the retailer in January 2023, in a move which ended the involvement of founder John Hargreaves. The move saw the lenders cut the group’s gross debt by £257m to £336m and agreed up to £100m in new growth funding as part of the deal.
The retailer was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1998 and notched a £1bn valuation, but was later taken private by the Hargreaves family in 2006. Matalan operates more than 200 stores internationally and counts 11 million shoppers each year.
Henrik Nordvall, CEO, Matalan, said: “This commitment to providing additional funding reflects the confidence of our anchor investors in both the business and our strategy, as well as the strong strategic progress we have made and the growing momentum in the business. We’re investing for growth and seeking to increase the pace of that investment in the areas we are seeing the strongest returns, including our stores and product offer, as we continue to strengthen our proposition around great style, quality and value and grow our market position.”
