Made.com director steps down as group mulls equity raise

Made.com has announced that one of its senior directors, Gwyn Burr, has stepped down from the board with immediate effect, amid reports the group is looking to shore up its cash reserves through a fresh equity raise. 

Burr cited her reason for leaving as “a need for her to give more focus to her other professional commitments at this time”. Her successor will be announced in due course. 

She first joined the group as senior independent non-executive director and chair of the Remuneration Committee in May 2021.  

Susanne Given, chair of Made.com, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Gwyn for her valuable contribution to the Made board over the last 15 months.”

Meanwhile, the group also confirmed recent press reports that it would consider undergoing a capital raise in order to strengthen its cash position.

Made.com confirmed it is “considering all options to allow it to strengthen its balance sheet”, adding that these options include a potential equity capital raise. 

It also said it “continues to consider its options and a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate”.

It follows recent reports that Made.com called in advisers to help shore up its balance sheet alongside plans for a share sale to raise approximately £50m, as first reported by Sky News. 

The London-listed company reportedly hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to evaluate cost-cutting strategies and restructuring options.

Reports speculated that Made.com was said to be also planning to raise equity almost a month after it said that it was exploring ways to strengthen its financial position. The launch of a cash call was not thought to be immediate, but Sky said to be likely to require shareholder approval.