Latest news with #Brait
IOL News
20 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Brait plans exit from New Look amid UK fashion struggles
Investment holding group Brait is actively exploring exit options for its stake in UK fashion retailer New Look. Image: Bloomberg Investment holding group Brait is actively exploring exit options for its stake in UK fashion retailer New Look, it said on Wednesday, as the underperforming asset continues to weigh on its portfolio amid a broader strategic reshaping following its 2024 recapitalisation. New Look, once a significant pillar in Brait's investment lineup, now comprises just 3% of its total assets, down from 7% a year earlier. The decline reflects continued weak trading in the UK's embattled fashion retail sector, which has been plagued by consumer caution, price discounting, and shifting demand patterns. Sales at New Look fell by 4% year-on-year while gross profit declined by 3%, according to Brait's year-end results for the period ended March 31, 2025. A capital injection of £30 million (R730m) was recently announced in an attempt to support the retailer's transition to a more digitally focused model. 'To offset regulatory inflation and align with a more digitally focused model, the company initiated a significant restructuring across the business,' Brait said in its results . "Exit options for the business are being explored, while the transition from offline to online channels continues to progress." Brait's equity holding in New Look is also set to fall sharply. Once the recapitalisation is finalised, Brait's diluted equity stake will decline to 8% from 17.2%, further diminishing its exposure to the brand. The investment's unrealised carrying value dropped to R485 million at the end of March 2025, nearly halving from R982m a year earlier. Despite the drag from New Look, Brait reported a modest improvement in its net asset value (NAV) - Brait's key reporting metric - buoyed by better performances from core holdings such as Virgin Active and Premier, as well as progress on its balance sheet restructuring. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Brait's NAV per share rose 6% to R3.06 on a like-for-like basis compared to March 2024, following the completion of a broad recapitalisation package in August last year. That included a R1.5 billion rights offer, partial repayments and maturity extensions of its convertible and exchangeable bonds, and the extension of its revolving credit facility. The company reported a R1.378bn reduction in debt over the period, aided by bond buybacks and improved operational cash flow from its investments. Post year-end, Brait further reduced its liabilities with a £10m repurchase of convertible bonds in April 2025, bringing post-balance sheet available liquidity to R838m. From an IFRS perspective, Brait posted diluted earnings and headline earnings per share of 5 cents, a turnaround from a 13-cent loss per share in the prior year. Virgin Active Virgin Active, which accounts for 62% of Brait's portfolio, continued to recover strongly, posting a 13% increase in revenue to £212.5m and a 45% rise in year-to-date Ebitda to £35.8m. During the reporting period Brait made significant investment in the existing estate and new clubs and club refurbishments to drive higher membership engagement and yields. Premier Foods, the group's fast moving consumer goods arm, grew revenue up by 7% at R19.9 billion, while Ebitda rose 15% to R2.4bn. Brait said investment has continued across key operating units with annual capex of R726m mostly on bakery upgrades. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
The Citizen
a day ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Virgin Active closes three clubs in three months
Closure in May sees the group exit Soweto completely … No pain, no gain. The gym chain is catching up on overdue capex as it works to 'meet the minimum brand standards'. Picture: Virgin Active SA Virgin Active is shutting three of its clubs across May, June and July. The first of these, the Jabulani RED club in Soweto, closed at the end of May. This closure means there are no longer any Virgin Active gyms in Soweto, following the Maponya Mall club's closure last year. Its Southgate club was closed in 2019. It says that 'despite our best efforts and continued investment in the [Jabulani] facility, this model has unfortunately not resonated in the way we had hoped'. The group has announced that the club at Boulders in Midrand will close at the end of June and that its Riverside club in Mbombela (Nelspruit) will shut at the end of July. ALSO READ: Virgin Active still not near pre-Covid members, revenue Won't compromise on standards Regarding the Boulders club, it says 'after proudly serving our members for over 15 years, the club has now reached a point where, even with extensive renovations, it would not be possible to meet the modern standards we hold ourselves to'. 'For this reason, we will be closing the club at the end of its current lease'. It says it faces a similar situation in the capital of Mpumalanga: 'Having reached its 10-year milestone, the club is no longer able to meet the modern standards of design, innovation, and experience that our members have come to expect. Even with significant renovations, the site would not be able to deliver the future-forward Virgin Active experience we strive to offer, nor remain sustainable in the long term.' Its other club in the city is located just 3.5km away. At its peak, at the end of 2018, Virgin had 141 clubs in Southern Africa. At the end of 2023 (the latest publicly available figure), this number had reduced to 132, according to the gym operator's owner Brait. It opened a string of clubs in the late 2010s, with the most recent being Table Bay Mall (Cape Town), Cornubia Mall (Durban), Kyalami Corner (Johannesburg) in 2017 and Loftus Park (Pretoria) in 2018. ALSO READ: 'Males' in female steam room – Virgin's gender policy sparks debate Virgin still recovering Following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the group has taken a further two years to recover to what Brait calls 'maintainable' revenue levels. It has still not reached its stated 'maintainable' Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) level, but ought to do so in the 2025 financial year. Virgin Active has 634 000 members in southern Africa (as at September 2024), an increase of 5% from the 604 000 it had at the end of 2023. It is catching up on 'overdue' capex in South Africa (and in the UK). It says this is necessary in both markets to 'meet the minimum brand standards'. Refurbs are currently underway at the Silo District (Collection) at the V&A Waterfront and Point club also in Cape Town, as well as the Bryanston and Glen Acres clubs in Gauteng. The Point refurbishment is well overdue but was contingent on it winning an auction for the lease in 2023. It outbid a rival, and the new lease starts at R3.7 million per month, which is understood to be substantially more than it had been paying for the previous 23 years. In April, Brait said Virgin Active was prioritising 'capital investment in the estate to enhance the member proposition'. It added that the group 'has continued to trade positively since the beginning of the calendar year, with above budget membership growth in Italy and the UK offset by slightly less than budgeted growth in South Africa and Australia'. Acquisitions, rollouts – and a boost Brait acquired The Real Foods Group, the owner of Kauai and Nü in 2022, and has prioritised the rollout of these stores in clubs where they weren't yet present. It received a major boost with the renewal of its contract with Discovery this year, which had previously been renewed in 2019. Brait has been effectively winding down the business since 2020 by exiting its investments, under new management by Ethos. It sold DGB and Iceland in 2020, Consol in 2022 and listed Premier Foods in March 2023, but retains a stake in the business (which it will sell down over time). It is planning to sell its holding in New Look in the next 12 to 18 months and is looking to list or sell Virgin Active in 2026/27. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
38% of Brait PLC (JSE:BAT) is owned by insiders, and they've been buying recently
Brait's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion 51% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders Recent purchases by insiders Every investor in Brait PLC (JSE:BAT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 38% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk). Notably, insiders have bought shares recently. This could be interpreted as insiders anticipating a rise in stock prices in the near future. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Brait. View our latest analysis for Brait Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices. Brait already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Brait's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. Brait is not owned by hedge funds. Christoffel F. Wiese is currently the company's largest shareholder with 38% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.2% by the third-largest shareholder. To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making. While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known. The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Brait PLC. Insiders have a R3.0b stake in this R7.8b business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 29% stake in Brait. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders. I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Brait (1 is a bit concerning) that you should be aware of. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
