Settlement of a Legal Dispute

RNS Number : 0043M

Brown (N.) Group PLC

09 January 2023

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.  Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

9 January 2023

Settlement of a Legal Dispute

N Brown Group plc (the "Company") is pleased to announce that full and final settlement (the "Settlement") has now been reached in respect of the ongoing legal dispute with Allianz Insurance Plc (the "Insurer").

The Settlement relates to a claim issued against JD Williams & Company Limited ("JDW"), a subsidiary of the Company, by the Insurer in January 2020 (claim number CL-2020- 000004) and JDW's counterclaims in that litigation (the "Dispute"). The Dispute related to significant amounts of redress paid to customers by JDW and the Insurer in respect of certain historic insurance products, including payment protection insurance.

Under the Settlement, which is a negotiated settlement and made without admission of liability, JDW will pay the Insurer a sum of £49.5m in full and final settlement of the Dispute, below the sums claimed by the Insurer (which exceeded £70m inclusive of interest and costs). A provision of £25.5m in respect of the claims by the Insurer was recognised in the Company's balance sheet as at 27 August 2022. By the Settlement, the Dispute has been brought to an end.

The Settlement removes a significant element of uncertainty and distraction for JDW and allows the Company to focus on creating shareholder value through its core business activities as it continues its transformation.

The Company has sufficient liquidity to meet the cash flow requirements of the Settlement, including unsecured net cash of £82.9m as at 31 December 2022 as well as access to a RCF of £100m and overdraft of £12.5m, which are both fully undrawn as at 9 January 2023. Payment is expected to be transacted before the end of January 2023. After satisfying the Settlement the Company will retain a strong unsecured net cash position with material additional liquidity facilities remaining undrawn.

The Company will release its quarter 3 trading and outlook update on Thursday, 12 January 2023.

The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Christian Wells, General Counsel and Company Secretary.

For further information:

N Brown Group
David Fletcher, Head of Investor Relations	[phone]
MHP Communications
Simon Hockridge / Eleni Menikou / Charles Hirst	[phone] [e-mail]
Shore Capital - Nomad and Broker
Stephane Auton / Daniel Bush / John More	[phone]

About N Brown Group:

N Brown is a top 10 UK clothing & footwear digital retailer, with a home proposition. Our retail brands include JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo, and our financial services proposition allows customers to spread the cost of shopping with us. We are headquartered in Manchester where we design, source and create our product offer and we employ over 1,800 people across the UK. 

 

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