Boohoo dives into debt as losses soar to £160m and sales slump

Online fashion retailer cut over 1,000 jobs in year to February amid competition from rival Shein and resurgent high street

Boohoo has cut more than 1,000 jobs and dived into debt after its losses soared and sales slumped 13% amid heavy competition from the Chinese online seller Shein and the revival of the high street after the pandemic lockdowns.

The online fashion specialist, which owns Debenhams, Warehouse, Dorothy Perkins and Pretty Little Thing, said it had built up net debts of 95m in the year to the end of February - down from almost 6m of net cash a year before - after losses widened 76% to 160m and sales fell to 1.8bn.