WILL JJB SPORTS BE ABLE TO RECOVER FROM THIS SET BACK?
NICK BUBB PALI INTERNATIONAL
News of the deeply discounted rights issue has obviously hit the group. I’m not too surprised by that. JJB’s rival Sports Direct reports trading figures next week and this ‘loan leak’ is designed to hurt Sir David Jones’ reputation and therefore hurt JJB’s abilitiy to raise money and fight back – it’s a logical reason for the leak.
SAM HART CHARLES STANLEY
As far as I’m aware the company does need to arrange additional financing to continue to survive in the long-term, so any successful capital raising will aid the group. But the group continues to be in a messy situation and the fact that it is still not financially secure will have provoked some concerns.
JOHN STEVENSON KBC PEEL HUNT
After an extended period of under-investment and a short period of questionable management, JJB’s current management team is arguably the strongest the business has seen in terms of retail experience. But, any turnaround plan remains limited by the group’s £25m working capital facility, which is barely sufficient to re-stock.