​Boohoo Group — or Debenhams Group as it’s now known — is close to a new funding deal and it’s an interesting one as it will bring the Debenhams brand’s former part-owner back into direct dealings with the business.

TPG is the investment firm that helped take Debenhams private in 2003 in a £1.7 billion deal that left the department stores chain with more than a billion pounds of debt. 

Now Sky News has reported that US-based TPG is in talks to provide a big chunk of debt to Boohoo Group — which is rebranding as Debenhams Group — with talks on a prospective £175 million deal at an advanced stage.

It said a deal could be announced soon but no confirmation has been forthcoming.

however on Thursday afternoon, Boohoo/Debenhams issued a stock exchange announcement saying: “Debenhams Group, the online powerhouse in fashion, home and beauty, notes the recent speculation regarding a new debt facility. Shareholders are reminded, that as previously announced, it has in place an existing £125 million RCF [revolving credit facility] which does not expire until October 2026. It continues to review its debt facilities, in the ordinary course of business. Debenhams will provide any further updates as appropriate.”

TPG’s earlier involvement with Debenhams saw the retailer returning to the stock exchange a few years after that 2003 acquisition only to struggle in the last decade and to throw in the towel in 2020 under the weight of its debt and in the face of tough trading during the pandemic. It went into administration (for the second time in just a few years) and was bought by Boohoo Group with all its stores closing as it became online-only.

Its new owner bought it at a time when Boohoo itself was riding high on the back of the pandemic-linked online boom. Boohoo’s sales were surging and it was a very active buyer of distressed brands. It was clearly a good move because Debenhams has been one of the more successful parts of the wider business since then, even as other parts of the fast fashion empire declined.