Shareholders in Glasgow-based Quiz Clothing have backed the board’s proposal to take the company off the stock market and re-register as a private business.

The board was seeking to cancel its shares on the Alternative Investment Market, saying the cost of remaining outweighs the benefits.

At a meeting in Glasgow today, two resolutions received 98.6% of the votes cast, comfortably above the 75% threshold required to cancel the shares from 7am on 23 January when all the non-executive directors will resign.

The company announced the plan before the festive break after months of struggling with cash flow and trading difficulties.

It believes it has a better chance of survival as a private company. Just after Christmas it announced a £4.7m loss before tax for the half year to the end of September against £1.5m last year.

The business, which has about 1,500 employees, 62 stores and 47 concessions, continues to seek more funds after a disappointing Christmas trading period.

As announced on 6 December, the cash headroom available to the business is less than previously anticipated. 

The company will arrange for a Matched Bargain Facility to be put in place ahead of cancellation to enable shareholders to trade in the ordinary shares. This would be provided by JP Jenkins, an appointed representative of Prosper Capital, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA.

Difficult trading history

Daily Business revealed Quiz’s intention to float in April 2017 and its shares were admitted to trading on AIM in July 2017.

The group’s revenue grew from £89.8m at the time of the IPO to £130.8m in 2019.

Following the significant impact of Covid on the group’s revenue from 2020 and subsequent restructuring of its stores portfolio, revenues partially recovered and grew to £91.7m in the year ended 31 March 2023.

Subsequently, customer demand was impacted by the widely reported cost of living and inflationary pressures with revenue declining to £82m during the 2024 financial year with the group generating a loss. 

Given the ongoing decline in customer demand, revenue in the year ended 31 March 2025 is expected to be below 2024 revenue.