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Monday, August 6, 2018

Steinhoff Europe and Finance Holdings units at the heart of its accounting scandal relocate to Britain

Steinhoff International Holdings relocated two units at the heart of its accounting scandal to the UK as the retailer embarks on a new phase of recovery after reorganising debt.

Steinhoff Europe and
Steinhoff Finance Holdings will move from Austria to Cheltenham, England — where the company’s UK business is based. The supervisory boards of both units have been redrawn, with Steinhoff CFO Philip Dieperink and commercial director Louis du Preez holding positions at the Europe division. Joining them is Richard Heis, a corporate restructuring specialist previously at KPMG hired by Steinhoff in February.

The trio are part of the new leadership team charged with rescuing the owner of Poundland in the UK and Mattress Firm in the US after its share price collapsed and CEO Markus Jooste quit.

Steinhoff won support in July from a majority of creditors to restructure €9.4bn of debt — a crucial step towards its potential survival. Auditors at PwC are investigating the company’s accounts with a particular focus on off-balance-sheet and third-party deals, and aim to publish a report by the end of 2018.

The company has said the financial irregularities it reported in December are likely to have been focused on the European businesses, which include Conforama in France, Pep stores in Eastern Europe and Hemisphere properties.

Steinhoff sold loss-making Austrian furniture retailer Kika/Leiner and related real estate assets in June. The African business was spun off into a separately listed company before the scandal erupted.
Steinhoff shares gained 2.7% to €0.16 at 1.49pm on Friday in Frankfurt.

Bloomberg

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