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Matalan founder John Hargreaves was about to lose control of the clothing giant he founded nearly 40 years ago
Matalan founder John Hargreaves is about to lose control of the clothing giant he founded nearly 40 years ago.
Invesco, Man GLG, Napier Park and Tresidor will seize the chain tomorrow.
They have agreed to wipe £250 million off the company’s debt and inject up to £100 million in funds to secure its future.
Struggle: Matalan has 230 stores in the UK and still generates more than £1bn in sales a year
The debt burden forced the former market vendor to step down as chairman last year.
Since then he has fought to keep his ownership of the company.
It has 230 stores in the UK and still generates more than £1bn in sales a year despite stiff competition from Primark, Asda and Tesco.
The Hargreaves family took a £250 million dividend in 2010 after saddling the company with a £500 million loan. In 2015, there were already warning signs that it was over-indebted.
Monaco-based mogul Hargreaves opened his first Matalan in 1985. He had a brief stint in the stock market before taking it private again in 2006.