Findel raises £600k after selling unit to address debt
HOME shopping and education supplies firm Findel said it would sell a unit, which includes its gadgets and gifts business, to online retailer The Hut Group in a cash deal worth £600k to help reduce its debt pile.
Findel, whose net debt stood at £309.6m as of 2 April, had earlier said its level of net debt was too high.
Operations of the unit CWIO comprise online retailer of gadgets and gifts iwantoneofthose.com and Confetti, a multi-channel retailer for bridal products.
The sale of CWIO, formerly known as Findel Direct, forms a part of the company’s strategy to exit non-core and loss-making operations. For the year ended 2 April, the multi-channel retailer had reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of £13.8m from continuing operations, compared with a restated £29.2m in 2009.
Shares in Findel plummeted in July after the disclosure of a £76m pre-tax statutory loss and worries about its high debt levels.
Findel’s shares closed 2.7 per cent lower yesterday at 6.61p.