We forecast what retail assets will realise, finance the process and deliver the result.
AdviRetail is an independent, partner-led advisory, recovery and financing business – backed by a dedicated investment vehicle, Germany-led and working across Europe with solvent retailers, insolvency estates, lenders and investors.
One partner. One forecast. Capital committed against it. Execution through to the final result.
Analysis · Capital · Execution
Independent and partner-led, backed by a dedicated investment vehicle. Germany-led, across Europe.For solvent retailers and shareholders
Overstock, footprint and working capital – hands-on execution and asset-based capital for going-concern businesses, while protecting full-price trading.
Overstock and inventory optimisation
Aged, excess or under-performing inventory converted into cash at the best achievable price – through the retailer’s own stores and channels or alternative channels (e-commerce, marketplaces, wholesale, B2B, bulk buyers). Product-level pricing adjusted to actual sell-through; full-price trading, brand and customer base protected; inventory augmented where it enhances margin.
Store portfolio optimisation and market exits
Store-by-store and country options analysis with the cash outcome of each. Closure programmes and market exits planned, negotiated and executed end-to-end – landlord negotiations, lease exits and handbacks included. Customers and employees transitioned to the continuing business.
Working capital release
Analysis of the cash tied up in inventory, receivables and stores – and the fastest route to release it: clearance, channel shift, supplier and landlord terms, or asset-based financing. Delivered as a plan with weekly cash milestones, not a report.
ABL working capital
Facilities secured on inventory, receivables, real estate and IP – liquidity for seasonal purchasing where bank lines are constrained or fully utilised. Terms of up to 2–3 years against a breathing borrowing base; stock purchase and repurchase where security cannot be established. Backed by a dedicated investment vehicle: terms within days.
Valuations and guarantees
Inventory and asset appraisals (GOLV / NOLV) for boards, lenders and buyers, benchmarked against more than €1bn of actual recoveries. Minimum recovery guarantees giving boards and lenders a defined minimum outcome and greater certainty over recoveries.
Borrowing base monitoring and security agent
For the retailer’s existing lenders: weekly borrowing-base certificates, stock counts and collateral audits, sell-through and pricing checks – so that bank or fund financing against inventory stays available and the covenants hold. Where required we act as collateral or security agent under the facility.
For insolvency estates: DIP financing and delivery
For administrators, Sachwalter and self-administrators (Eigenverwaltung) – capital, planning and execution from one counterparty.
What we lend
- DIP loan (Massekredit)
- A borrowing-base facility to the administrator or the self-administered debtor, secured on the estate’s assets. It funds continued trading, new-season stock, critical supplier payments and the costs of an orderly trade-out – and is repaid from the proceeds we generate ourselves.
- Minimum recovery guarantee
- A contractual floor on trade-out proceeds where the estate needs certainty – leaving M&A and property solutions open in parallel.
- What we lend against
- Inventory first – and, where they exist, receivables, real estate, IP and brands, and cash, each at its own advance rate in a breathing borrowing base recalculated weekly.
What we take off your desk
Everything operational: sales through every channel, logistics, finance and accounting, IT, suppliers and landlords, people, and the realisation of every other asset – with a weekly EOS update against the forecast. The legal process stays with you and your lawyers.
Why this benefits the estate
- Fast decisions, in days: we have already valued the assets to build the EOS
- Capital committed, not syndicated – backed by a dedicated investment vehicle
- No third-party appraiser or monitoring agent – lender and operator are one team
- Germany-led documentation; assets and subsidiaries abroad brought into the same facility
Illustrative structure: the administrator or Sachwalter keeps legal control and oversight; AdviRetail, backed by a dedicated investment vehicle, provides a DIP loan against a breathing borrowing base and runs the estate’s operations; repayment comes from the trade-out proceeds.
Typical DIP loan: €5–20m for 3–12 months, decided quickly. Draw, repay and redraw against a weekly borrowing base; cash sweep from proceeds. In self-administration (Eigenverwaltung) the facility is agreed with the debtor’s management and the Sachwalter.
Why AdviRetail
The capabilities normally split between adviser, lender and operator – in one accountable team, from forecast to final cash.
Certainty of outcome
A minimum recovery threshold, with a guarantee where required: a contractual floor on net proceeds that leaves the administrator or board free to pursue M&A and property solutions in parallel.
Capital, fast
Backed by a dedicated investment vehicle. Streamlined diligence and decision-making: commercial terms within days, for a going-concern solution or an insolvency proceeding.
Aligned economics
Benefit-share above the agreed threshold; fees typically covered by over-performance against the forecast. Initial analysis undertaken at our own risk.
Every channel, not just stores
Trade-outs through e-commerce, marketplaces, wholesale, B2B and stores – whichever realise the most – with logistics, accounting and IT run as one operation.
Hands-on and partner-led
Senior professionals stay close to the engagement: operational control, transparent reporting and direct access for management, administrators and lenders.
Germany-led, pan-European
Cross-border expertise with experienced local professionals across DACH, Benelux, the UK and France – estates and assets abroad handled in one plan.
How we work: Analyse · Finance · Deliver
One partner. One forecast. Capital committed against it. Execution through to the final result.
1Analyse
Estimated outcome statements, turnaround plans, recovery forecasts and asset valuations – built line by line from the data and benchmarked against more than €1bn of actual recoveries.
The same numbers we lend against2Finance
ABL facilities for solvent retailers and consumer brands; DIP loans (Massekredit) for insolvency estates – secured on inventory, receivables, real estate, IP and cash. Backed by a dedicated investment vehicle: diligence and terms within days.
More than €100m lent since 2016 – no capital lost3Deliver
Turnaround, trade-out and wind-down programmes run by our own operations teams through every channel – e-commerce, wholesale, stores – with logistics, accounting and IT managed end-to-end and daily reporting to all stakeholders.
On average ~10% above the original forecastHow we work in practice
- A motivated team, including around 50 experienced retail operations specialists averaging 24 years in retail, focused on clearance, closure and wind-down programmes
- A central AdviRetail team (operations, marketing and finance) runs the programme; our consultants operate the stores and channels on behalf of the client, in line with an agreed operations manual
- We work alongside the incumbent team, providing support and guidance rather than replacing it
- A controlled, carefully managed discount strategy at item level
- A targeted media campaign, ideally using the company’s own resources – customer database, online presence, marketplaces
- A planned series of “active selling” events to drive volume, with a high-impact, flexible in-store POS package
- Social media and online marketing through the existing networks, supplemented by our own expertise where required
- Initial recovery estimates supported by a database of more than €1bn of historical recoveries
- SKU-level reporting with daily sales analysis, tracking every category and product by store and channel
- A responsive, data-driven approach to stores and inventory, with discounts driven by a dynamic pricing model and advertising aligned to every discount change
- All analysis shared with the client – full transparency of how trading is managed
- Certain work undertaken at our own risk: stock value assessment, initial sales planning and forecasting (including store collapse planning), stock augmentation negotiations
- During the trade-out we manage staffing levels by store, including temporary staff where required, support retention-of-title and critical-creditor negotiations (logistics providers, IT and other key suppliers) and run the distribution centre
- All inventory cleared to zero; stores and warehouses left broom-clean, with a final sales-to-cash reconciliation
1What we analyse
Estimated outcome statements, turnaround plans and valuations built from the data up – independent, underwriteable and fast.
What we produce
- Estimated outcome statement (EOS)
- Realisable value by asset class, costs of realisation, timing and net proceeds to the estate or lender – under trade-out, going-concern sale and hybrid scenarios.
- Turnaround plans and trade-out forecasts
- Weekly sales, margin, discount path and cash by channel and category.
- Asset valuation
- Gross and net orderly liquidation values (GOLV / NOLV) for inventory; realisable values for receivables, real estate, IP and cash; borrowing bases for lenders, buyers and investors.
- Options analysis
- Channel by channel and store by store: continue, close, sell or clear – with the cash consequence of each.
How we build them
- Line-by-line analysis of inventory, receivables and cost data: age, season, category, sell-through and price elasticity
- Channel-level P&L and cost run-off, landlord and supplier positions, retention of title
- Benchmarked against more than €1bn of actual recoveries in the same categories and countries
- Multi-country estates modelled in one plan – Germany-led, across all channels, with warehouses and subsidiaries abroad included
- Initial analysis usually at our own risk, before any fee is agreed
What you receive
An urgent high-level view within a day of the data – enough to decide on; the full pack follows.
- Inventory and asset valuation
GOLV / NOLV by category, channel and store; receivables, real estate, IP and cash - Turnaround and trade-out forecast
Weekly sales, margin and cash by channel and for the estate as a whole - Estimated outcome statement
Including costs of realisation and the net position for creditors - Financing proposal, where required
Borrowing base and indicative ABL or DIP terms on the same numbers - Scenarios side by side
Trade-out, going-concern sale or hybrid, each with its cash outcome – the decision is yours
We provide the analysis; the choice between the scenarios – including a sale – stays with the stakeholders. If a trade-out or wind-down is chosen, we deliver it.
2What we finance: ABL and DIP
Two propositions on the same mechanics – working capital for solvent retailers, and funding for insolvency estates through the trade-out.
| ABL – asset-based lending | DIP loan (Massekredit) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Solvent retailers and consumer brands, and their shareholders | Insolvency estates: administrators, Sachwalter and self-administrators (Eigenverwaltung) |
| Purpose | Seasonal purchasing, refinancing of constrained bank lines, working capital release | Continued trading, new-season stock, critical supplier payments and the costs of an orderly trade-out |
| Security | Inventory, receivables, real estate and IP; stock purchase and repurchase where security cannot be granted | The estate’s assets: inventory first, plus receivables, real estate, IP and cash |
| Sizing | Advance rate on the NOLV of each asset class (inventory typically up to 85%); breathing borrowing base recalculated weekly | Same mechanics – sized off the valuation that underpins the EOS |
| Term | Up to 2–3 years; draw, repay and redraw | 3–12 months – the length of the trade-out |
| Decision | Diligence and commercial terms within days | Decided in days on the EOS valuation; capital committed at term-sheet stage |
| Repayment | From operating cash flow or refinancing; cash sweep where agreed | Cash sweep from trade-out proceeds generated by our own team |
| Monitoring | Weekly by AdviRetail – no third-party appraiser or monitoring agent | Weekly by AdviRetail, with an EOS update to the administrator and the lenders |
Backed by a dedicated investment vehicle. Capital is committed at term-sheet stage, not syndicated. Typical facilities of €5–20m. Minimum recovery guarantees are available alongside either facility, and either can be combined with our execution of the clearance or trade-out.
How a facility is sized
Borrowing base mechanics – a transparent bridge from asset value to lending capacity, updated weekly.
- Security
- Inventory as the core collateral, with receivables, real estate, IP and cash included where available – each at its own advance rate
- Sizing
- Advance rate on the net orderly liquidation value (NOLV) of each asset class – inventory typically up to 85%. A breathing borrowing base, recalculated weekly as the underlying collateral changes
- Repayment
- Cash sweep from trade-out proceeds, with collateral realisation managed directly by our own team
- Monitoring
- Weekly monitoring by AdviRetail – stock levels, sell-through, pricing and cash reconciliation across all channels
- Jurisdictions
- Germany as the primary jurisdiction, with cross-border assets and subsidiaries incorporated into the structure where appropriate security can be established
From gross inventory to borrowing base
Illustrative, indexed to 100.
GOLV = gross orderly liquidation value (sales value before costs); NOLV = net orderly liquidation value. The advance rate applied to the NOLV available to lenders gives the inventory borrowing base; receivables, real estate, IP and cash are added at their own advance rates.
3What we deliver: from forecast to cash
One team from the initial forecast through to final cash realisation and reconciliation.
Analyse
Inventory, receivables, channels and costs modelled line by line, forming the basis of the EOS and recovery forecast.
Fund
Borrowing base across inventory and other eligible assets, with ABL or DIP terms and guarantees based on the same valuations.
Execute
Our own operations teams across e-commerce, wholesale and stores; dynamic pricing on actual sell-through; logistics, accounting and IT run end-to-end.
Report
Daily SKU-level sales and inventory by channel, with weekly EOS updates, cash reconciliation and borrowing-base monitoring.
Hand back
Inventory fully realised, stores and warehouses handed back broom-clean, cash collected, final files and reconciliations delivered.
Results-based economics
Results-aligned fee structures and minimum recovery guarantees, with our fees typically covered by over-performance against the agreed forecast.
Capital and commitment
Valuations, forecasting and initial planning undertaken at our own risk, with capital deployed alongside clients where required – backed by a dedicated investment vehicle.
Pan-European operations network
Around 50 experienced retail operations specialists, averaging 24 years in the industry, deployed across channels and countries – DACH, Benelux, the UK and France.
Protecting the go-forward business
Minimising cannibalisation, preserving brand and store identity, and transitioning customers and employees to the continuing business.
End-to-end operational oversight
Stores remain core, but the job is the whole operation and every channel – realising assets as our own DIP or ABL collateral, or for other stakeholders.
Sales channels and trade-out
E-commerce and marketplaces, wholesale and B2B, own stores and outlets: product-level pricing, promotion, signage and content, run by our operations specialists in Germany and abroad.
Logistics and warehouse
Receiving and delivery, inventory consolidation and transfers, fulfilment and returns, warehouse run-off, supplier collections and retention-of-title handling.
Finance and accounting
Invoicing and collections – making sure every sale is paid – till and payment-provider reconciliation, payment runs, creditor and ROT reconciliation, weekly EOS update against the forecast.
IT and systems
ERP, shop systems, marketplaces, tills and payment providers maintained throughout, with secure data extraction and an orderly shutdown.
Suppliers and landlords
Critical supplier negotiations, lease exits and dilapidations, fixtures and fittings, IP, domains and the realisation of other assets.
People
Employee retention programmes, stakeholder communication and workforce transfer or exit planning, in coordination with HR and employment advisers.
What stays with you
- The decisions: which scenario, which assets and when
- The legal process: court and statutory filings, creditor claims and distributions
- Credit and security decisions, employment law and litigation
We work alongside your lawyers and report to you weekly. Everything operational is our responsibility.
What you can expect
- Day 1
- Review of the available assets, valuation and first EOS
- Week 2
- Turnaround or trade-out plan, financing proposal and scenario comparison
- Weekly
- EOS update against forecast, cash reconciliation, borrowing base
- End
- Inventory realised through all channels, stores and warehouses handed back broom-clean, cash collected and reconciled, files handed over
Track record: we hit the numbers we forecast
The same team writes the forecast and runs the trade-out – on average the outcome has been around 10% above the original forecast.
Germany-led, across Europe
Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and France; cross-border estates and assets abroad; more than 1,500 stores closed or traded out.
All retail categories
Consumer electronics, DIY, department stores, fashion and footwear, furniture, jewellery, sports, baby and children’s products.
All channels
E-commerce and marketplaces, wholesale and B2B, own stores and outlets, bulk buyers.
Engaged by
Insolvency administrators and Sachwalter, owners and management teams, lenders and investors.
Cost recovery: original forecast against achieved
Cost recovery = net sales proceeds as a percentage of stock at cost. The chart shows a selection of the 36 projects. Track record achieved by the founding team, 2015–2026; lending figures as at 2023.
The team
More than 40 years of combined experience in retail wind-downs, trade-outs and asset-based lending.
Siegfried Kobal
Chief Executive OfficerSiegfried is an experienced restructuring and retail executive with more than 20 years of operational experience. Since 2010 he has led turnaround, clearance and wind-down programmes on behalf of administrators, secured lenders and other key stakeholders.
Prior to founding AdviRetail, Siegfried was Operations Director at a specialist US-owned restructuring firm. His earlier career includes senior roles with a number of high-profile German retailers, including eight years at Promarkt as Cash Audit Leader and Head of Audit, and three years at Metro Group, one of the world’s largest retailers, as Stock Control Officer.
Siegfried studied Mechanical Engineering in Klagenfurt, Austria, before beginning his career in the Austrian Army, where he served for seven years.
Jan Reinert
Chief Operating OfficerJan has specialised in retail restructuring since 2016, working for investment funds and ABL lenders throughout his career. He brings a strong understanding of operational planning and execution and uses this insight to drive performance and maximise outcomes. Jan oversees the operations, reporting and reconciliation of trade-outs across engagements.
Prior to joining the investment sector, Jan worked as a Financial Controller and Project Manager across a range of controlling, logistics and e-commerce projects.
Dmitry Bejenar
Chief Financial OfficerDmitry has specialised in retail restructuring and asset-based finance since 2012. He began his career at a US-based restructuring firm, advising on transactions focused on overstock clearance and store closures.
With a deep understanding of underlying asset values, Dmitry is involved across the full transaction lifecycle, from due diligence and structuring through to completion. His experience includes asset valuations, DIP and ABL financings, and the execution of complex restructuring transactions.
Dmitry holds a degree in Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics from Lomonosov Moscow State University and an MBA from Cass Business School.
Get in touch
One address for all enquiries, read by the founding partners:
Or contact us directly on LinkedIn:
- Siegfried KobalChief Executive Officer
- Jan ReinertChief Operating Officer
- Dmitry BejenarChief Financial Officer
ADVI RETAIL Limited · 25 Central Court, 25 Southampton Buildings, London WC2A 1AL, United Kingdom
Impressum / Legal notice
Provider of this website
ADVI RETAIL Limited
25 Central Court, 25 Southampton Buildings
London WC2A 1AL, United Kingdom
A private limited company registered in England and Wales, company number 17421018.
Director: Siegfried Kobal.
Responsible for the content
Siegfried Kobal, Chief Executive Officer, at the address above.
Regulatory status
ADVI RETAIL Limited is an advisory and operations business. It is not authorised or regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority or by any other financial services regulator. The content of this website is for general information only and does not constitute financial, legal, tax or investment advice, nor an offer or solicitation to provide or arrange finance. Financing is provided to corporate counterparties only, on individually agreed terms.
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The content of this website has been prepared with care. We nevertheless give no warranty as to its accuracy, completeness or currency and accept no liability for decisions taken on the basis of it. Figures describing our experience and track record relate to work carried out by the team before the formation of ADVI RETAIL Limited and are not a guarantee of future results.
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