New Look owners pick bankers to fashion sale process

The owners of New Look, the precocious thoroughfare manner retailer, person picked bankers to oversee a strategical reappraisal which is expected to spot the institution alteration hands adjacent year.

Sky News has learnt that Rothschild has been appointed successful caller days to counsel New Look and its shareholders connected a imaginable exit.

The concern bank's assignment follows a fig of unsolicited approaches for the concern from unidentified suitors.

New Look, which trades from astir 340 stores and employs astir 10,000 radical crossed the UK, is the country's second-largest womenswear retailer successful the 18-to-44 year-old property group.

It has been owned by its existent shareholders - Alcentra and Brait - since October 2020.

In April, Sky News reported that the investors were injecting £30m of caller equity into the concern to assistance its integer transformation.

Last year, the concatenation reported income of £769m, with an betterment successful gross margins and a statutory nonaccomplishment earlier taxation of £21.7m - down from £88m the erstwhile year.

Like astir precocious thoroughfare retailers, it endured a torrid Covid-19 and engaged successful a ceremonial fiscal restructuring done a institution voluntary arrangement.

In the autumn of 2023, it completed a £100m refinancing woody with Blazehill Capital and Wells Fargo.

A spokesperson for New Look declined to remark specifically connected the assignment of Rothschild, but said: "Management are focused connected moving the concern and executing the strategy for semipermanent growth.

"The institution is performing well, with beardown momentum driven by a palmy summertime trading play and notable online marketplace stock gains."

Roughly 40% of New Look's income are present generated done integer channels, portion caller information from the marketplace quality steadfast Kantar showed it had moved into 2nd spot successful the online 18-44 category, overtaking Shein and ASOS.