R1.3bn forked out in Steinhoff advisory fees

Steinhoff International forked out another R1.3bn in advisory fees as it continued to repair the damage caused by a massive accounting fraud that unfolded in December 2017. A Business Day report says the third set of financial statements to be released within two months continued to be dominated by hefty advisory fees and near-crippling finance costs and revealed a loss of about R9bn for the six months to end-March 2019. The advisory fees included R176m relating to the forensic investigation and technical accounting support, as well as R480m relating to creditor adviser fees. In financial year 2018, Steinhoff paid R2.4bn in advisory fees. And the company has warned: ‘While every effort is made to limit costs, we expect this to remain our reality for some time.’ Adding to the fee burden is that as part of the lock-up agreement with its creditors – which provides for the suspension of claims to the end of 2021 – Steinhoff is required to pay the adviser costs of each of its creditor groupings. The finance costs for the six months almost doubled to R7.7bn from R3.9bn as a result of increased interest on borrowings following the group’s wide-ranging financial restructuring. Despite the sale of a number of assets, the group’s balance sheet continued to be weighed down by net debt of R145bn, notes the report.