River Island’s High Court hearing delayed by one day

River Island’s High Court hearing has been delayed by a day, and will now take place tomorrow morning (8th August), having originally been scheduled for today.

The sanction hearing will decide on whether a restructuring plan outlined by the retailer can be approved. Under the plan, River Island would look to shutter 33 stores, cut rents on a further 71 shops and write off a series of debts, including business rates to councils.

Of the stores River Island is not proposing to close, it is aiming for three-year rent cuts of between 75% and 25%, with owners of 24 shops being asked to accept zero rental payments.

However, previous reports said that not all creditor classes approved the restructuring plan, meaning the final approval will rely on the judge’s ruling at the sanction hearing. 

Around 80% of River Island’s creditors by value chose to support the plan in a vote held last week. However, the retailer did not secure 75% of the vote in every individual class of creditor, with some landlords resisting the plans. 

One of its landlords, British Land, has reportedly hired law firm Hogan Lovells to scrutinise the rescue deal. The company is understood to have abstained on the River Island restructuring plan vote. 

It comes as River Island warned it could run out of money by the end of the month if it cannot avoid payments to creditors.

A River Island spokesperson previously told Retail Sector: “River Island circulated its proposals for a restructuring plan to creditors on June 20th. In combination with the company’s ongoing transformation strategy, the plan is a proactive measure to place the company on a firm footing. We have been having positive conversations with key stakeholders and are confident that we will achieve approval of the plan in the coming days.”