Superdry secures £80m loan amid strong H1 sales

Superdry has revealed it has secured a new three-year financing facility of up to £80m that won’t expire until December 2025, as part of a trading update which also saw its group revenues surge 3.6% YOY. 

For the 26-week period ended 29 October 2022, the retailer’s ecommerce revenue also increased 1.7% year-on-year as consumers moved from online back to stores, with jacket sales and AW22 performance from third party sites being the “key drivers” of growth.

However, due to a fabric shortage that the brand warned on back in October, its wholesale revenue is down 5.2% following low levels of dispatches in that month. Nevertheless, the company expects to partially reverse this in the second half. 

As of 20 December, Superdry reported having around £13m of net debt, down from £25m since 1 October.

In addition, the Superdry board has announced the appointment of new auditors from RSM UK for the financial year ahead and beyond.  

Julian Dunkerton, founder and CEO of Superdry, said: “I’m pleased with the performance of the business over the half. It’s been well documented that conditions are extremely challenging which weren’t helped by the unseasonably warm weather in October and into November. 

“I am also encouraged with how we have started the second half, which has seen our biggest ever week for ecommerce orders driven by a return to record levels of jacket sales over the Black Friday period, and good momentum through the recent spell of colder weather.”

He added: “That said, we are under no illusions that consumer confidence is fragile and that the picture is unlikely to change quickly. We are very pleased to have completed our refinancing and this, combined with the continued strengthening of our brand and product, means the business is in good shape as we trade through our important Christmas trading period.”