Any investment which loses more than 95% of its value can only be described as a disaster. However, the lessons learned from this disaster are so powerful I would have to describe Ted Baker as a gift, albeit a painful one.
Key points
- Ted Baker produced consistent, rapid growth for many years
- Ted’s growth was largely funded by banks and landlords rather than shareholders
- External funding was used to drive growth because of Ted’s weak profitability
- Even before the pandemic, Ted had more debt and leases than it could comfortably afford.
Investment summary
“A quintessentially