Studio Retail back in the black after recovering from £75m losses before Frasers Group rescue
Studio Retail surged back into the black after recovering from losses of over £75m as it collapsed into administration, new documents have revealed.
The Lancashire-headquartered company, which was rescued by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, has posted a pre-tax profit of £12m for the year to April 30, 2023.
It had previously reported losses of £75.6m for the prior 12 months in which it entered administration owing more than £80m to its creditors in February 2022.
The return to making a pre-tax profit came despite its revenue falling from £424.4m to £330.2m.
Since the end of the financial year, Frasers Group announced that Studio Retail was to be split off from its financial services division, which has been renamed Frasers Group Financial Services Limited (FGFSL).
FGFSL will provide financial services across the wider Frasers Group as well as Studio Retail. The team will continue to be based in Clayton-le-Moors.
As a result of the move, next year’s accounts for the newly-renamed FGFSL are likely to look considerably different with Studio Retail’s results reported separately.
For the financial year under review, Studio Retail’s headcount fell from 1,484 to 1,335.
‘The company’s trajectory is positive’
A statement signed off by the board said: “During the year, the company actively took action to pause, stabilise and implement improvement plans to become stronger in future years.
“These improvement plans involved: access to parental management guidance, economies of scale through increased intra-group volumes, technology system improvements and advice on operational best practice.
The statement additionally noted that the firm’s strategy will be to continue improving “its performance and market share by improving the quality of its credit product offering and operating efficiency”.
It continued: “We will continue to invest in our products and services, including the Frasers Plus app, to ensure we are offering the best customer journey possible.
“The credit services market is expected to remain competitive, however, the directors are confident that the company’s trajectory is positive.”