Fat Face appoints bankers to look at possible sale

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 23, 2022

The owners of Fat Face are believed to have taken on bankers to advise it about a sale of the UK-based clothing and accessories retailer.

A report in the Sunday Times said they’ve appointed Rothschild to look at strategic options, including a possible sale of the business.

It’s a key step that comes after a troubled period for the firm that was formerly owned by Bridgepoint Capital. It had bought the business in 2007 for £360 million. However, at the height of the pandemic in mid-2020 with its debt load crushing it, a consortium of its lenders took over the firm in a debt-for-equity deal. 

That transaction slashed its debt and meant it could continue trading. It also refinanced recently with a new revolving credit facility until 2027 and has plenty of cash to get it through the next few years.

So if a sale happens, it clearly won’t be on fire-sale terms with the company now in a much better position that it once was. Its sales are back at pre-pandemic levels and in the six months to last November, they were £125 million and were 4% higher than they were before Covid struck, with 38% of its sales happening online.

In another sign of confidence, earlier this month, Fat Face named a new COO with the company promoting its global operations director Mark Wright to the newly-created post with immediate effect.