Brait’s losses a new blow to billionaire Christo Wiese
Billionaire Christo Wiese has received more bad news as a company in which he has the biggest shareholder reported a decline in the value of its investments alongside higher borrowings. Brait SE, in which Wiese owns a 35% stake, said net asset value was R57.32 at the end of March, compared with a restated R77.63 a year earlier, with retailer New Look struggling amid a sales slump on the UK’s shopping streets. The company’s other assets include fitness chain Virgin Active and supermarket chain Iceland. Wiese’s net worth plunged when Steinhoff International Holdings, in which he was the largest investor, reported accounting irregularities late last year.
While Brait is unrelated to the scandal-hit clothing and furniture retailer, its stock has slumped 41% over the past 12 months, reducing the value of Wiese’s Brait stake to about R7bn ($479m). The 76-year-old is now worth about $2.3bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, compared with $5bn before the Steinhoff scandal...
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