Brait strategy turns New Look around
The investment holding company has narrowed its losses and looks to New Look to recover value.
Brait, the investment holding company controlled by Christo Wiese, is seeing its turnaround strategy for New Look starting to bear fruit as the UK clothing retailer improves its operations and market share in womenswear. Flush with cash after selling its Pepkor stake to Steinhoff in early 2015, Brait bought 90% of New Look for R14.2bn in May 2015. But due to the sustained deteriorating performance of the company, Brait was forced to write-down the full value of its investment in the retailer. New Look’s poor performance has weighed on Brait over the past two years, turning the formerly profitable company deep into the red. The poor performance has also weighed on the share price, with Brait trading 77% lower at R38.10 from its 2016 high of R167 a share. The company has four primary investments — local fitness chain Virgin Active, Premier Foods, the maker of Blue Ribbon bread and Snowflake flour, UK budget food retailer Iceland Foods, and New Look. Virgin Active saw its memberships a...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.