City round-up: Sosandar Irish store deal; AMS on the block; Supreme vape strategy; Fisher secures new bank facility

Wilmslow-based women’s fashion brand, Sosandar, is expanding in Ireland with a deal to launch in-store with Arnotts, the country’s oldest and largest department store. 

Sosandar initially started selling online with Arnotts and will now be sold in Arnotts’ store in central Dublin, alongside other brands such Longchamp, AllSaints, Jigsaw and Barbour.

Sosandar has seen strong demand from customers in Ireland since its inception and this well established customer base will now be able to interact with the brand through an additional physical channel, it said.

The Arnotts store is located on Henry Street, on the north side of central Dublin. Together with the Brown Thomas chain of department stores, it is owned by the UK-based The Selfridges Group. 

Sosandar, which was set up by co-CEOs Ali Hall and Julie Lavington as an online brand, is also branching out into physical bricks and mortar stores and confirmed today that its first two stores are now open in Chelmsford and Marlow.

Chelmsford is a vibrant and affluent city within the London commuter belt with a population of nearly 200,000 people and was a natural choice for a Sosandar store. Marlow is a thriving riverside town, where Sosandar customers over-index.

Marlow attracts footfall from both London and the Home Counties, with 32,000 visitors daily, making it a varied hive of activity and the perfect spot for the Sosandar brand. 

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said: “Arnotts is a well established and upmarket department store in Dublin, well suited to Sosandar’s high quality product range, and we’re excited for the opportunity the partnership presents.

“Our products were well received online with Arnotts and we’re delighted to now be able to offer our Irish customers a more personalised in-store shopping experience.”

They added: “The launch with Arnotts comes amidst the opening of our first two stores, in the vibrant and affluent towns of Chelmsford and Marlow. The reception since opening has been nothing short of fantastic and we are grateful to the people of Chelmsford and Marlow for giving us such a wonderfully warm welcome.”

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AMS Winsford HQ

Advanced Medical Solutions Group (AMS Group) shares have climbed this week on the back of speculation over a takeover move by private equity investor Inflexion.

AMS Group, which manufactures surgical brands including LiquiBand and Resorba has a market capitalisation of over £500m.

In its half-year results on Wednesday the company made adjusted profit before tax of £14.8 million (2023 H1: £13.8 million), despite the Woundcare headwind. Reported profit before tax was £5.7 million (2023 H1: £11.8 million) as a result of significant exceptional items incurred in the period.

Woundcare revenues decreased by 17%, at both reported currency and constant currency, to £19.5 million (2023 H1: £23.7 million) due to “the previously reported declining Organogenesis royalty and weak demand, in particular within exudate management, which included the cessation of certain low margin business.”

Commenting on the interim results Chris Meredith, CEO of AMS, said two recent acquisitions of Peters Surgical and Syntacoll  “has been progressing well, and the business is proving to be an excellent fit culturally and strategically.”

However, he added: “Whilst Woundcare has continued to struggle, we believe we have a pathway to improving its profitability. We feel confident that our enlarged portfolio, greater geographic reach, the synergies that we believe can be established over the next three years, combined with the revitalised momentum established in the legacy AMS Surgical business has set us on a very strong trajectory for growth in the long-term.”

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Jean Vernet

Listed Barrow-based maritime group James Fisher has secured new bank facilities of £95m, comprising a £75m Revolving Credit Facility (“RCF”) and a £20m term loan for three and five years respectively. The RCF also contains two, one-year extension options, subject to lender approval.

Since the start of 2024, James Fisher has significantly reduced its debt through the sale of non-core businesses and improved cash management, allowing the Company to right-size its bank facilities on terms which position the Group for future growth.

The new bank facilities, which reflect the Group’s significantly lower leverage, have been secured from a syndicate of four major international banks, being three existing, and one new lender.

The new bank facilities provide increased flexibility to operate the business, while significantly reducing overall maintenance costs when compared to the previous arrangements. Refinancing in advance of the maturity date of the existing RCF will result in a consequential reduction in deferred facility fees payable to existing lenders.

The Group has also secured additional bank guarantee lines to support business operations.

Jean Vernet, Chief Executive Officer of James Fisher, said: “Our overriding priority in 2024 was to improve the Group’s financial position, by significantly deleveraging the Group towards our target range. 

“Completing the refinancing provides the key foundations for growth needed to complete the second phase of our business turnaround and unlock the Company’s full potential in the Blue Economy.”

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AIM-listed consumer goods supplier Supreme says it “remains fully supportive” of proposed legislation to clamp down on promotion of underage vaping. 

The business has done well out of the vaping boom, but is investing in non-vaping business lines, Chairman Paul McDonald will tell shareholders at its AGM today. 

“Supreme traded strongly across the year ended 31 March 2024, delivering record organic revenue and profit growth, and ending the year debt-free. We again saw strong consumer demand for our products, which continue to offer both high quality and value at a time when household discretionary spend remains under pressure.

“Pleasingly, we have continued to build on this positive trading momentum in the first half of the current financial year.

“The earnings enhancing acquisition of soft drinks business Clearly Drinks (completed in June 2024) has accelerated our broader diversification strategy, with our teams already leveraging Supreme’s extensive UK distribution network to create additional cross-selling opportunities and expand our market footprint.”

In a statement the company also said that following the acquisition of Clearly Drinks, non-vape annualised sales are now expected to exceed £100 million and more acquisitions are planned. 

Supreme expects trading for the year ended 31 March 2025 to be in line with market expectations of EBITDA profits of £37m.