The owners of Veritas are looking for a buyer for the Belgian sewing and clothing chain that has 120 stores in our country. That writes The time. The fact that the company can once again present profit figures after several difficult years should arouse interest. The new investor must also make Veritas a success story beyond the country’s borders.
Veritas is currently still owned by CIM Capital Restruct Fund, the investment fund of entrepreneur Marc Van Hool that focuses on the recovery of weakened companies, of entrepreneurs Erwin Van Osta and Carl Liekens (Hubo) and Walter Van Gastel. They bought the company in 2019 from Indufin, an investment company of the Brussels Van Wayenberge family that acquired 60 percent of the originally Antwerp family business five years earlier. A failed foreign adventure, disappointing figures and a heavy debt burden made Indufin decide to sell Veritas again.
Today, Veritas says it is back on track, with “a healthy balance sheet structure with significant cash flow generation”. Last year it recorded an operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) of 7.5 million euros, it wrote The time. Turnover grew 11 percent to 91.1 million. This year the chain expects to do even better.
“We bought Veritas to turn it into a well-functioning company again. That work is completed,” says Erwin Van Osta The time. It sounds like the entire company will be sold for a good offer. The new owner must help realize Veritas’ ambitious international plans. By 2026 it wants to have 80 stores in the Netherlands, Germany, Northern France and Scandinavia, it says. The time.
