Further re pension contributions deferral
Mothercare plc
Pension contributions deferral
Mothercare plc ("Mothercare", "the Company" or "the Group"), the highly trusted British heritage brand, that connects with the parents of newborn babies and children across multiple product categories throughout their early life as parents, today announces the outcome of the request to the Trustee to further defer pension contributions.
In our full year 2025 results announcement we noted that the Group’s Pension Trustee had agreed to defer the first six months’ payments of pension contributions due in the year to March 2026 and that we had requested a further deferral of such payments for the remainder of this financial year to support the Company’s cash flows whilst we are exploring growth opportunities. We are pleased to announce that the Trustee has agreed to extend the deferral of contributions to March 2026.
The total contributions due in the year to March 2026 that are deferred amount to £3.0 million. This sum together with the remaining contributions due, will be paid in accordance with a new schedule of contributions to be put in place no later than 31 March 2026 and which will include a resumption of contributions from 19 April 2026 at a level that the Trustee considers to be affordable.
We also highlighted in our full year 2025 results announcement that the Group expected to breach the liquidity financial covenant of our £8 million debt facility and we have subsequently breached this covenant, which means the facility is now repayable on demand. The Group continues to benefit from the ongoing support of its lender and as set out in that announcement we continue to have regular and positive discussions with them. Our lender has not indicated that they require immediate repayment of the facility. Whilst during certain points of our working capital cycle we have not met the liquidity financial covenant, we continue to have sufficient cash to trade for the foreseeable future.
The Board of Mothercare is very grateful for this significant support that both the Group’s Pension Trustee and our lender have provided. This deferral and forebearance allows the Company to focus on, evaluate and conclude the multiple ongoing strategic discussions with greater flexibility as we seek to restore critical mass, especially in the UK market. We also continue to explore other options to mitigate the pension scheme deficit.
Investor and analyst enquiries to:
| Mothercare plc Clive Whiley, Chairman Andrew Cook, Chief Financial Officer | Email: |
| Deutsche Numis (NOMAD Joint Corporate Broker) Luke Bordewich | Tel: 020 7260 1000 |
| Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Joint Corporate Broker) Matt Goode | Tel: 020 7220 0500 |
| Media enquiries to: MHP Rachel Farrington Tim Rowntree | Email: Tel: 07739 312199 |
