A possible property investor has abandoned talks over purchasing Boohoo‘s estimated £60 million London office, posing significant damage to its financial recovery efforts.
An Israeli investor has reportedly scrapped plans to purchase the high street e-tailer’s offices over undisclosed concerns uncovered when surveying the property, The Telegraph reports.
Boohoo bosses are hunting for cash in order to meet a £47 million debt repayment by August 2025.
Just three years ago, Boohoo invested £72 million in its six-storey office at 10 Great Pulteney Street in the heart of Soho, in an effort to support its expanding brand collection. It was anticipated that the fashion giant would incur a loss if the property was sold.
The Boohoo Group purchased Debenhams in 2021 after it went into administration in 2019. It has also acquired a series of Arcadia Group brands, after Philip Green’s empire folded in 2020, including Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, as well as Karen Millen, Oasis, and Coast.
Frasers’ Mike Ashley has warned against the “fire sale of assets at knockdown prices” as the e-tailer navigates its financial straits.
A spokesman for Boohoo told The Telegraph: “We are in active negotiations with regard to the sale of our London office.”
These financial struggles care exacerbated by tensions at the top, with co-founder Mahmud Kamani and Ashley embroiled in a scrap regarding Frasers joining Boohoo’s board. Frasers is Boohoo’s largest shareholder, owning a 27% stake.
The latest development in the saga saw Boohoo commit to “constructive” talks over a representative from Frasers gaining a seat at its boardroom table, but said current nominees, Ashley and Mike Lennon, a restructuring expert, would have “irreconcilable conflicts of interest”, eliminating their chances.
Ashley has reportedly been lobbying to take on the top position at Boohoo Group in recent months. However, this effort came to an end in November when Boohoo announced the appointment of Dan Finley, the former CEO of Debenhams, would be taking the helm.
