CPR.L Share News (CPR)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Carpetright PLC on Monday said shareholders have approved its company voluntary arrangement ahead of an equity capital raise in May.

Carpetright is operating as a going concern and is not, and will not be, in administration, it said, following the shareholder approval of the CVA. On Thursday last week, the company's creditors approved the CVA.

The implementing of the arrangement is conditional on Carpetright raising up to GBP15.0 million in interim funding as well as a successful equity capital raise.

It said it will update on the interim funding "shortly", and still expects capital raising to occur on or about May 18. This is conditional on there being no successful challenge to the CVA.

Commenting, Chief Executive Wilf Walsh said: "The CVA proposal will enable us to take the tough but necessary actions needed to restore our profitability.

"Having now received approval from both shareholders and creditors we will press ahead with our plans for the proposed equity financing to recapitalise the business and enable Carpetright to address the competitive threat from a position of strength."

In terms of trading, Carpetright said business since April 12 has remained difficult. In the last quarter of its financial year, which ended Saturday, like-for-like sales were down 11%, and as a result full year like-for-like sales fell 3.6%. In the Rest of Europe segment they declined 8.3% in the final quarter, but full year sales increased 1.1% like-for-like.

For its recently ended year, Carpetright is subsequently expecting an underlying pretax loss of between GBP7.0 million and GBP9.0 million. This would compare to an underlying pretax profit of GBP14.4 million in its prior year, itself down from GBP18.3 million the year before that.

Shares were broadly flat Monday at 42.64 pence each, having been as high as 224.00p in the past 12 months, in May last year.