Andhra Bank drags apparel retailer Provogue to court for dues recovery

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Jul 13, 2018

Indian apparel and accessories retailer Provogue has been taken to court by Andhra Bank for recovery of dues around Rs 90 crore ($13.2 million).
 

Provogue has been in troubled waters since 2016 when the promoters of the company, the Chaturvedi family, were forced to relinquish their shares to a group of lenders due to non-payment of dues and debt restructuring.
 
Andhra Bank was the major beneficiary acquiring a 51% stake in Provogue by swapping debt into equity in 2016. The bank is now looking to intensify its loan recovery process by initiating legal proceedings against the clothing retailer.

“It appears that the company is keen on revival and we are hopeful that a resolution will soon be put in place,” Nishit Dhruva, managing partner at MDP & Partners, Andhra Bank’s legal counsel was quoted by the Economic Times.
 
The company had reported a loss of Rs 155 crore in the financial year 2017-18 with revenue of Rs 98 crore.

A sum of Rs 305 crore was payable to lenders who restructured debt as of January 25, 2016, according to Provogue’s annual report for FY17.
 
“It’s been another challenging year but thanks to the support of our bankers and our shareholders we’ve been able to weather the storm and course correct for the future,” Nikhil Chaturvedi, Managing Director had said in the annual report.
 
Provogue is a Mumbai based company established in 1997 and has exclusive brand outlets called "Provogue Studio" at 150 locations. It is also retailed through selective stores in the country and leading national chain tores like Shopper's Stop, Lifestyle, Globus, Westside and more.