Philip Day makes Jack Wills takeover bid
Written by Peter Walker
22/07/19
Philip Day has made an initial bid for struggling British retailer Jack Wills.
The clothing brand’s private equity owner BlueGem started a search to find a new owner in early July, with Sports Direct, Crew Clothing and Ben Sherman owner Marquee Brands also understood to be assessing offers.
Jack Wills revealed a pre-tax loss of £29.3 million for the year to 31 January, with earnings before tax down £7.5 million, compared to a profit of £6.3 million in the previous year. This came on the back of a 1.1 per cent fall in sales to £129.3 million during the period.
Since BlueGem took control of Jack Wills in 2016, it spent £18 million on the company and arranged £10 million in funding from Italian businessman Giorgio Girondi, along with £25 million in credit from HSBC.
Meanwhile, Day has been busy this summer making a £5.7 million offer to womenswear retailer Bonmarché, after his Spectre Holdings investment company - which also owns Peacocks, Austin Reed and Jaeger - had acquired 52.4 per cent of Bonmarché shares in April, entitling him to a mandatory takeover bid.
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