"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank our colleagues across the business, alongside our pension trustees and all other stakeholders for their unswerving support throughout the challenges of the last six years.
The new joint venture strengthens our operations in South Asia through an even closer working relationship with Reliance, our existing valued franchise partner, and underlines the intrinsic value of the Mothercare brand strength, coterminously supporting a material reduction in our bank facilities and leverage.
We have worked closely with Gordon Brothers for over five years now and value its ongoing support. The revised facility agreement and related arrangements reflect the strength of that ongoing relationship alongside recognising the accretive nature of the joint venture to our equity valuation. The reduction in the required facility size, funded by the formation of the joint venture, and the resulting significantly reduced cash interest cost, greatly improves our flexibility for FY25 and beyond.
As a result, having demonstrated the inherent strength of the business's brand, we believe we can approach 2025 and beyond with a renewed and growing sense of confidence at the opportunities ahead, notwithstanding our ongoing cautious shorter-term outlook, given the continuing challenges facing our Middle East operations.
In short, we are now focused upon restoring critical mass alongside delivering our remaining core objectives. This is an exciting prospect for our partners, our colleagues and all our stakeholders alike as we finally leave behind the turmoil of recent years."
