REG - Brown (N.) Group PLC - Settlement of a Legal Dispute

N BrownAnnouncement

09/01/2023 07:00

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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       +44 (0)7876 111242

 MHP Communications
 Simon Hockridge / Eleni Menikou / Charles Hirst  +44 (0) 20 3128 8789

                                                  NBrown@mhpc.com (mailto:NBrown@mhpc.com)

 Shore Capital - Nomad and Broker
 Stephane Auton / Daniel Bush / John More         +44 (0) 20 7408 4090

 

 

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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