IG Design restructures GBP40 million in debt after turbulent year

Mon, 14th Jul 2025 11:59

(Alliance News) - IG Design Group PLC on Monday said it had successfully refinanced debt worth GBP40 million.

The Buckingham, England-based firm makes celebration products, including greeting cards, gift wrap, Christmas crackers and partyware.

It has negotiated three-year refinancing with UK banks HSBC Holdings PLC and NatWest Group PLC, restructuring GBP40 million as a recourse receivables finance facility. Once this facility commences, IG Design's current overdraft will be cancelled, it said.

The company added that the loan "provides more than sufficient headroom to fund the group's working capital needs" over the next three years.

The new loan carries an initial margin of 1.75% over the Sterling overnight index average, the Euro interbank offered rate or the secure overnight financing rate, depending on the currency drawn. IG Design's previous loan was spread over the latter, and had a margin of between 1.75% and 2.25% plus 0.1% credit adjustment. It ended with the disposal of DG Americas back in June.

"The new facility is expected to offer better value and be simpler to manage," IG Design said.

This follows a period of turbulence for the company, which warned back in January that profit in financial 2025 was expected "well below" the year prior, when it was USD25.9 million, and "significantly below" market expectations cited as USD32.0 million.

In an April trading update, IG Design estimated that revenue for the year that ended March 31 fell by 9% on-year, close to the 10% drop predicted in April. The firm cited "continued challenges across key markets, the US in particular". DG Americas was loss-making, facing lower demand and tariff uncertainty, which the firm described as "untenable". This resulted in the disposal of the branch for USD1 million in May, followed by the resignation of Chief Executive Paul Bal in June.

Chair Stewart Gilliland has assumed the role of executive chair on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found.

IG Design will publish full-year results on July 29.

Its shares rose 3.1% to 76.26 pence on Monday morning in London, but the stock remains down 62% over the past year.

By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter

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