N Brown has announced that it has settled its long-running dispute with Allianz Insurance, without admission of liability, for £49.5m – less than Allianz’s full £70m claim.
The case dates back to January 2020, when Allianz paid £27m to customers of JD Williams, an N Brown subsidiary, who were missold payment protection insurance (PPI).
The insurer subsequently sued N Brown, which in turn issued a countersuit claiming that Allianz shared equal responsibility for payments made prior to 2005. By the time of settlement today, Allianz’s total claim had reached £70m.
N Brown said in a statement that it had made a £25.5m provision for the claim in its balance sheet in August 2022 and 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 currently fully undrawn.
The Manchester etailer, specialising in fashion and homewares, which has recently seen a number of changes among its key leadership team and seen suitors snap up shares at a bargain 25p, compared to a 600p high in 2014, added that it would release its Q3 2022 trading update on January 12.
