Debenhams Group is considering the sale of Pretty Little Thing as part of a wider restructuring effort aimed at stabilising the struggling fashion retailer.
Chief executive Dan Finley, who took charge last November after the resignation of John Lyttle, said he would leave “no stone unturned” in attempts to turn around the group, which rebranded from Boohoo earlier this year.
The company said on Tuesday it had already achieved around £50 million in annualised cost savings since Finley’s arrival, including a 30 per cent reduction in headcount. Alongside a potential disposal of Pretty Little Thing, Debenhams is also “assessing long-term options” for distribution centres in the US and Burnley, Lancashire.
The group’s full-year results underline the scale of the challenge. For the 12 months to 28 February, adjusted ebitda rose 3 per cent to £41.6 million, but revenue slipped 12 per cent to £790.3 million, pushing the business into an operating loss of £42.6 million.
All of Debenhams’ brands – which also include Karen Millen, Nasty Gal and Dorothy Perkins – are currently trading profitably on an adjusted ebitda basis, and the group said it expects earnings for continuing operations to improve in the first half of 2026.
Shares in Debenhams ended flat on Tuesday at 14½p.
The latest moves come against a backdrop of tension with Debenhams’ biggest shareholder, Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which has repeatedly attacked the retailer’s financial performance as a “catastrophe”.
Finley’s appointment as chief executive last year was seen as a rebuff to Ashley, who had reportedly wanted the role himself. Within weeks of taking the helm, Finley had to fend off an attempted boardroom coup from the tycoon.
Founded in 2006 by Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, Boohoo acquired Debenhams out of administration in 2021 for £55 million, turning the 247-year-old high street chain into an online-only business. In March 2025, Finley rebranded the group under the Debenhams name, declaring: “Debenhams is back.”
The company has also strengthened its balance sheet, completing a new debt financing package worth up to £175 million in August, replacing an existing £125 million facility, and cutting its debt pile by £15 million to £78.2 million.
For Finley, the decision over Pretty Little Thing will be a key test of whether his turnaround strategy can deliver lasting change for one of Britain’s most scrutinised retail groups.
