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Joules dives after talks with Next to invest £15m in ‘yummy mummy’ fashion brand collapse
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Joules shares went into hiding after Next pulled out of talks to invest £15m in the ‘yummy mummy’ fashion brand.
The struggling retailer entered into talks with Next last month about taking a 25 percent stake by the retail giant.
But a subsequent profit warning saw Joules’ stock crash — meaning Next’s investment would have been worth more than half of the entire company.
Struggles: Joules entered into talks with Next last month about taking 25% of the high street giant – but a subsequent profit warning saw the fashion chain’s shares crash
Joules confirmed yesterday that talks about the investment had “held up”. Shares tumbled 49.6 percent, or 10.25p, to 10.4p.
The company has appointed former Compare The Market boss Jonathon Brown as chief executive, replacing ousted Nick Jones.
On his first day of work yesterday, Brown brought back founder and non-executive director Tom Joule as executive to oversee new series.
An investment from Next would have been a lifeline for Joules, which is in talks with banks about its finances.