THG founder and CEO Matt Moulding has committed more cash to the online retailer after spinning out its digital logistics business, Ingenuity, last year.
Moulding will invest up to £60m as part of a refinancing deal and equity fundraise. That’s on top of the £50m worth of shares the entrepreneur has bought since THG’s IPO in 2020.
The business, which owns Lookfantastic and ESPA, has raised £91.2m in an equity raise and through convertible loan to pay down debt.
Around £30m was raised through a new offering of shares.
In a post on LinkedIn, Moulding said: “Given THG Ingenuity is no longer part of THG, we're planning a new £550m set of facilities, reflecting THG no longer funding Ingenuity's capex investments.
“Achieving a similar interest rate as the pre-Covid ‘free money era’ isn’t quite as simple. However, the feedback from debt markets has been that this should be achieved if THG raises £60m of equity.
“And so, like any parent, I’m once again stepping up for THG. This time investing a further £60m into THG, underpinning the planned refinancing.”
He said THG’s existing £760m banking facilities were not due to expire until the end of 2026, but the company had “worked with the debt markets to understand what a deal would need to look like to refinance our facilities early, on similar terms to our existing deal”.
In a candid message, the founder said he had waived all remuneration and expenses since the company went public.
He said that “nobody warns you about the crushing burden of responsibility when setting up a business” and likened it to parenting.
Yesterday marked the elevation of THG to the FTSE 250 in a quarterly reshuffle of the index.
Moulding said earlier this month that the promotion marks an important moment in THG's evolution following the demerger of THG Ingenuity, which he also backed with £10m.