Matalan founder could face fresh battle with lenders - report

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 22, 2022

Matalan’s founder and returning chairman John Hargreaves is gearing up for a battle with the firm’s lenders as £350 million in debt comes up for refinancing, a news report claimed on Monday.

Sky News said it has learned that he's recently proposed injecting “tens of millions of pounds” into the business and that he and his family would retain full control of the company he founded nearly 40 years ago.

But City sources told the news organisation that some of the retailer’s senior creditors might not be convinced by the proposal and could push for the chain to be put up for sale.

It's unclear exactly how much the family would invest in the business but Sky reported that it could be between £25 million and £50 million.

Of course, this is all speculation at present and there have been no formal discussions about a sale. Matalan hasn't commented while the lenders haven't formally rejected any proposals from Hargreaves, Sky said.

The Liverpool-based company employees as many is 11,000 people and has 230 UK stores, as well as e-tail ops and 50 international franchise stores.

Although the company has seen its sales recovering since the pandemic, the global health crisis put it under huge pressure and Hargreaves returned as chairman last month in order to steer it through the current challenging time.