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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Jon Robinson

Matalan chairman departs after takeover of fashion retailer completes

Matalan's interim chairman has stepped down after the takeover of the fashion retailer was completed by a group of its lenders.

Tim Issacs took on the role in September after founder John Hargreaves left in order to bid to take control of the company himself.

However, a group of its lenders, led by Invesco, Man GLG, Napier Park and Tresidor, won the race to takeover the business earlier this month.

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Mr Issacs has now stepped down from his position after the deal was completed. The future of interim chief executive Nigel Oddy remains unclear.

Mr Oddy joined in October and has previously been the CEO of New Look and chief executive of The Range. He has also held roles at House of Fraser, Furnitureland, Blacks Leisure and M&S.

Before stepping up to become interim chairman, Mr Issacs had been a senior non-executive director at Matalan.

At the same time the deal was announced, Matalan also revealed that its revenue totalled £312.8m in the 13 weeks to November 26, 2022, up from the £291.4m it achieved during the same period in 2021. Its pre-tax losses were also cut from £41.3m to £20.1m.

Matalan employs around 11,000 people and operates about 250 stores across the country.

Speaking earlier this month, Stephen Hill, Matalan's chief financial officer, said: "Matalan is a fantastic business and I am pleased that with the support of our First Lien Noteholders, its ongoing future has been secured via a materially lower level of debt and a reset balance sheet.

"As we transition to new ownership and having worked with John and the Hargreaves family for over 20 years, it would be remiss not to emphasise the contribution they have made to building the great business we have today and the many opportunities that lie ahead.

"On behalf of the Matalan team, I would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation.

"It is clear in our third quarter and recent trading performance that whilst the market remains challenging, customers have demonstrated a strong affinity to our brand and proposition, evidenced from our robust and ongoing sales growth.

"However, the business must continue to adapt its approach to such market conditions, increasing its level of agility and margin resilience."

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