Serial fashion investor buys In The Style stake

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Oct 6, 2022

William Currie Investments (WCI), led by Bill Currie, a former investor in THG, Boohoo and ASOS, has taken a 4.15% stake in digital women’s fashion retailer In The Style, according to new documents filed with the London Stock Exchange and seen by Business Live.

Other members of the company's lead team include former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy and Bob Willet who has held roles with Marks & Spencer and Littlewoods.

In a separate move, Lombard Odier Asset Management has cut its holding in the from 21.09% to 19.82%.

In The Style floated on the AIM index in March 2021 and currently has a market capitalisation of just over £8 million after its shares dropped by over 80% in the year to date.

However, last month the group issued a positive trading update ahead of its AGM, having made “significant progress” against several of its strategic priorities, “to increase profitability".

The retailer said these strategic priorities support its on-going focus on re-engineering its business model “to increase profitability and manage the cash position”. It noted net cash currently stands at £4.3 million, following investment and exceptional items.

The company completed a restructuring of its marketing, technology and product departments as well, “to increase operating efficiencies from October”.

For the year to March, the company posted a pre-tax loss of £1.5m compared to a profit of £125,000 in the prior 12 months. However, its revenue jumped by 28% from £33.7m to £57.3m over the same period.