Boohoo Property Acquisitions - Paul Scott - Stockopedia13 Apr 2021 12:18
Paul Scott was a Finance Director of a UK Fashion Company before leaving to become a personal investor and write for the likes of the Small Cap Value Report on Stockopedia.
Here is what he has to say about Boohoo Group's Property Acquisitions:-
This looks interesting. BOO has bought an office block in Soho -
The Evening Standard gives more details on the Soho office deal -
• 10 Great Pulteney Street
• 46,000 sq.ft.
I’ve googled it, and the building BOO has bought (freehold - I've just confirmed this with the company) is currently called Nokia House. It’s within walking distance of the main garment area (which is a little further north, clustered around Great Titchfield Street). Soho is a much more interesting place to work though, full of interesting bars & restaurants, so with flexible working being offered as well, then I think BOO will have no trouble attracting the best creative talent to work in this new Soho office.
This comes hot on the heels of a “transformative” deal to acquire a large “state of the art” 1.2 m warehouse in Daventry, which was completed in 2019 for former owner, Arcadia group (since gone bust, and broken up). This warehouse deal enables BOO to increase capacity to £4bn of sales, more than double forecast £1.7bn revenues for FY 02/2021.
My opinion - these property deals demonstrate how serious BOO is about major expansion, not just organic, but also from all the new brands acquired. The former Arcadia brands, and Debenhams, already had significant online sales. With BOO group expertise, and a total focus on online only, I think we could see a major increase in revenues & profits, looking forwards say 2 years, once the new brands have been assimilated.
It’s very exciting, and the current forward PER of 32 really doesn’t reflect the massive expansion in the pipeline from all these new brands (it’s now 15 brands in total), in my opinion.
Hopefully ESG concerns might be a distant memory in a year or two, although never underestimate the power of the press to keep regurgitating the same story! I think anyone likely to sell on ESG concerns, is almost certainly out by now. Once they see the growth, and the higher standards being implemented on ESG, then maybe some of those sellers will be buying back in at a later date, and a higher price? ESG funds should engage with companies where there are concerns, not just walk away - how is that meant to help things improve?
There’s nothing particularly bad about the garment sector. People need clothes, they gradually turn into fluff on a tumble dryer's filter, so need to be replaced. Young people in particular want the latest looks, and why shouldn’t they? BOO garments are not the cheapest on the market, and are not designed to be worn once, that's a fallacy. I do think the group needs a better PR team, as so many of the hostile press articles are based on flawed opinions - e.g. if you watch the parliamentary committee which questioned BOO management, this