Brait has announced plans for a R2.5bn rights issue to lower its debt and and to pay its portion of a separate rights issue in Virgin Active.
Brait is in the final stages of its strategy to unlock value for its shareholders through the distribution of its remaining assets, and it is positioning Virgin Active for a possible listing within two years.
Brait’s chairman, Richard Nelson, stated in the annual report released on Friday that the investment group’s strategy still requires optimising Virgin Active for a listing or sale of the business, the sale of Brait’s stake in the UK fashion store chain New Look and the repayment of any residual Brait debt, to facilitate an unbundling of the remaining listed assets to its shareholders.
Virgin Active’s £175 million (R4.1 billion) capital raise is scheduled to close in August 2026, following shareholder approval expected at Brait’s extraordinary general meeting on July 16, 2026. This process forms part of Brait’s broader R2,5bn rights offer announced on June 18, 2026, aimed at deleveraging Virgin Active ahead of its planned listing in 2027–2028.
To optimise Virgin Active for a potential listing, it is preferable that the business repays some of its existing debt to achieve a suitable level of gearing, says Nelson.
