Embattled fashion retailer Superdry is gearing up to run an emergency four-week sale process if creditors fail to support boss Julian Dunkerton’s restructuring proposal.
The accelerated M&A sale process is expected to be launched if a restructuring plan is rejected by creditors and landlords “in the coming weeks”, according to Sky News.
As part of the proposed survival plan, Dunkerton would underwrite either £8m in an open offer to other shareholders or £10m in a placing that would only be available to him.
According to a document shared with creditors and seen by Retail Week, if the plan is not approved at the Sanction Hearing it will be followed by a four-week sale process, with the outcome likely resulting in a pre-pack administration deal.
Sources have said that Dunkerton’s “willingness to inject such a substantial chunk of his own fortune” into the business reflects his confidence and belief in Superdry’s turnaround trajectory.
Superdry declined to comment.
The news comes after Superdry first announced its survival plans, which involved steep rent cuts across its store estate and delisting from the London Stock Exchange, in April this year.
Shortly after, Sky News reported that the landlord of Superdry’s Oxford Street flagship, M&G, had drafted in lawyers from Hogan Lovells to “scrutinise” the proposal and a formal legal challenge was a “possibility”.
Speaking to Retail Week after unveiling the plan, Dunkerton called it a “chance at a rebirth” of the business.
He said at the time: “I love this company and I believe in this company. I’m putting more money in because I believe in it.
“This is the chance at a rebirth of Superdry as an exciting place to be, and these proposals will allow me to create that.”
“I’m the only man to take the business forward. It’s a complicated business that I started and that I understand.”
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