Business

Debenhams boss Sergio Bucher is presumed to step down his chair

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Following the struggling department store chain’s recent takeover by its lenders, Debenhams boss Sergio Bucher is expected to step down.

Mr. Sergio thinks now is the right moment to move on”Holding on and getting the refinancing in place, as per the reports.

As per the reports, the upcoming restructuring can then be led by someone offering a fresh start.

Well, the retailer was bought less than a week ago after entering administration.

The group of lenders that now owns Debenhams includes:

banks such as Barclays and US hedge funds such as Silver Point and Golden Tree. which provided the retailer with £200m in funding.

Moreover, the group said:

it had a huge turnaround experience, which they said will extend to support the management’s turnaround plan.

The group continued saying,  expecting to work closely with management and the board to position Debenhams for a long-term prosperous tomorrow.

We are pleased that now under new ownership, the business can look forward with confidence.

Mr. Bucher had already been voted off the retailer’s board after major shareholders, Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct and Landmark Group voted opposite Mr. Bucher’s re-election in January.

Sports Direct founder Mr. Ashley – who held a nearly 30% stake in Debenhams – made numerous offers to take it over.

However, his final offer of £200m was denied because it was conditional on him becoming chief executive.

Scandal

Finally, Mr. Ashley described the Debenhams takeover as a national scandal and called for the administration process to be shifted.

It is Debenhams, which is the biggest department store chain in the UK with 166 stores. which employs about 25,000 people.

The company’s stores will continue to trade as normal during the initial restructuring process before closures begin next year.

As well as the planned closures, it has also been renegotiating rents with landlords to tackle its funding problems.

It has not released a list of which shops may be shut.

And also Debenhams is one of a string of well-known names suffering in a tough High Street environment.

In the previous year, Poundworld, Toys R Us, and Maplin all went bust and disappeared altogether.

Other household names are –

Homebase, Mothercare, Carpetright, and New Look – were forced into restructuring deals with their landlords, closing hundreds of stores.

Meanwhile, Music chain HMV recently caught into administration before being bought.

The growing popularity of online shopping, higher business rates, rising labor costs, and the fall in the pound following the Brexit vote, has increased the cost of imported goods.

Thus have been blamed for contributing to retailers’ woes.

 

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