9. Debt

The components of the Company’s outstanding long-term debt at February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024 were as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

February 1, 2025

 

 

 

Outstanding Principal Balance

 

 

Original Issue Discount

 

 

Capitalized Fees & Expenses

 

 

Balance Sheet

 

Net long-term debt (Term Loan due 2028)

 

$

74,288

 

 

$

(3,652

)

 

$

(1,217

)

 

$

69,419

 

 

 

 

February 3, 2024

 

 

 

Outstanding Principal Balance

 

 

Original Issue Discount

 

 

Capitalized Fees & Expenses

 

 

Balance Sheet

 

Term Loan due 2028

 

$

168,438

 

 

$

(9,367

)

 

$

(3,123

)

 

$

155,948

 

Less: Current portion (including Excess Cash Flow payment)

 

 

(35,353

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(35,353

)

Net long-term debt

 

$

133,085

 

 

$

(9,367

)

 

$

(3,123

)

 

$

120,595

 

The original issue discount and capitalized fees and expenses are amortized over the related term of the debt.

The Company recorded interest expense related to long-term debt of $14.1 million, $23.8 million, and $17.7 million, in Fiscal Years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. During Fiscal Years 2024, 2023 and 2022, $1.6 million, $2.8 million and $3.1 million of debt discount and debt issuance cost related to long-term debt were amortized to interest expense, respectively.

Term Loan Credit Agreement

On April 5, 2023, the Company and Jill Acquisition LLC (the “Borrower”) entered into a Term Loan Credit Agreement (the “Term Loan Credit Agreement”) by and among the lenders party thereto and Jefferies Finance LLC, as administrative and collateral agent. The Term Loan Credit Agreement provides for a secured term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of $175.0 million with a maturity date of May 8, 2028 (the “Term Loan Facility”). Loans under the Term Loan Credit Agreement bear interest at the Borrower’s election at (1) Base Rate (as defined in the Term Loan Credit Agreement) plus 7.00% or (2) Adjusted Term SOFR (as defined in the Term Loan Credit Agreement) plus 8.00%, with Adjusted Term SOFR subject to a floor rate of 1.00%.

In conjunction with the entry into the Term Loan Credit Agreement, the Company paid $3.7 million in third-party fees related to legal, consulting, agent and other fees. Of these costs, $3.1 million were deferred and presented as a direct reduction from the carrying amount of long-term debt on the consolidated balance sheet as of February 3, 2024 and are amortized through the line item Interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income over the term of the Term Loan Credit Agreement using the effective interest method.

The Term Loan Facility is subject to mandatory repayment, subject to certain exceptions, including (i) 100% of the net proceeds of any incurrence of debt other than debt permitted in the Term Loan Credit Agreement, (ii) 100% of the net cash proceeds of certain asset sales/insurance proceeds, subject to reinvestment rights and certain other exceptions, and (iii) 95 days after the last day of the Fiscal Year, an annual payment ranging from 25%-75%, based on the First Lien Net Leverage Ratio, of the annual Excess Cash Flow (“ECF”), less certain voluntary prepayments made during the year, as defined in the Term Loan Credit Agreement.

The Term Loan Facility may be voluntarily prepaid after the one-year anniversary but on or prior to the two-year anniversary, subject to a premium of 3.0% of the aggregate principal amount being prepaid, and after the two-year anniversary without premium.

For Fiscal Year 2024, the Company would be required to make an Excess Cash Flow ("ECF") payment of $11.8 million prior to May 7, 2025 under the terms of the Term Loan Credit Agreement. However, the voluntary principal prepayments discussed below satisfied the ECF payment requirement and, accordingly, no ECF payment is required.

For Fiscal Year 2023, the amount that was expected to be repaid as an ECF payment of $26.6 million is included in the line item “Current portion of long-term debt” in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet for Fiscal Year 2023, in accordance with the provisions of the Term Loan Credit Agreement.

On May 10, 2024, the Company made a voluntary principal prepayment of $58.2 million on the Term Loan Credit Agreement, in lieu of the previously expected ECF payment of $26.6 million. The expected ECF payment was rejected by the lenders as permitted under the provisions of the Term Loan Credit Agreement. On June 21, 2024, the Company made an additional voluntary principal prepayment of $27.2 million (See Note 15. Shareholders’ Equity, Common Stock Issuance, for additional information). Together with the required quarterly payments, the Company has repaid $94.2 million in principal under the Term Loan Credit Agreement in Fiscal Year 2024. In connection with the voluntary principal prepayments, the Company paid a $2.6 million premium, amounting to 3% on the aggregate principal amount being prepaid, and $1.6 million towards interest, in accordance with the provisions of the Term Loan Credit Agreement. In connection with the voluntary principal prepayments discussed above, for Fiscal Year 2024, the Company recognized a loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $8.6 million, consisting of $6.0 million of accelerated amortization of the discount and fees and $2.6 million of prepayment premium, in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income. As of February 1, 2025, the remaining Term Loan Facility principal balance was $74.3 million, which is to be paid upon maturity on May 8, 2028. The remaining unamortized discount and fees of $4.9 million will continue to be amortized over the remaining term through maturity.

The Borrower’s obligations under the Term Loan Credit Agreement are guaranteed by the Company and J.Jill Gift Card Solutions, Inc., a Florida corporation wholly-owned by Jill Acquisition LLC (“Jill Gift Card Solutions” and collectively with the Company, the “Guarantors”), and are secured by substantially all of the real and personal property of the Borrower and the Guarantors, subject to certain customary exceptions. The Term Loan Credit Agreement includes customary negative covenants for term loan agreements of this type, including covenants limiting the ability of the Borrower and the Guarantors to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness, create liens on assets, make investments, loans or advances, engage in mergers, consolidations, sales of assets and purchases, pay dividends and distributions, enter into transactions with affiliates, and make payments in respect of junior indebtedness, in each case subject to customary exceptions for term loan agreements of this type. The Term Loan Credit Agreement also includes certain customary representations and warranties, affirmative covenants, certain financial covenants and events of default, including but not limited to, payment defaults, breaches of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, certain events under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), certain final non-appealable judgments that are not covered by a reputable and solvent insurance company, certain defaults under other indebtedness, change of control and certain Title 11 proceedings.

As of February 1, 2025, the Company was in compliance with all covenants.

Priming and Subordinated Term Loans

The Company was party to a priming and a subordinated credit agreement, dated as of September 30, 2020, by and among J.Jill, Inc., Jill Acquisition LLC, as the borrower, the lenders party thereto from time to time and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as administrative agent and collateral agent (as amended, the “Subordinated Credit Agreement” and, such facility, the Subordinated Facility), until it was repaid in full on April 5, 2023.

Asset-Based Revolving Credit Agreement

On May 8, 2015, the Company entered into a five-year secured $40.0 million asset-based revolving credit facility agreement (the “ABL Facility”). The ABL Facility had an initial maturity of May 8, 2020. On June 12, 2019, this ABL Facility was amended to extend the termination date to May 8, 2023.

On April 15, 2022, the Company entered into an amendment to the ABL Facility, whereby (i) the maturity date of the ABL Facility was extended from May 8, 2023 to May 8, 2024, and (ii) changed the benchmark interest rate applicable to the loans under the ABL Facility from LIBOR to the forward-looking secured overnight financing rate (Term SOFR).

On May 10, 2023, the Company entered into Amendment No. 6 to the ABL Credit Agreement, by and among the Company, J.Jill Gift Card Solutions, the other guarantors party thereto the other lenders party thereto, and CIT Finance LLC, as the administrative agent and collateral agent. This amendment extended the maturity date of the ABL Credit Agreement from May 8, 2024 to May 10, 2028 (or 180 days prior to the maturity date of the Company’s Term Loan Credit Agreement if the maturity date of such Term Loan Facility has not been extended to a date that is at least 180 days after the maturity date of the ABL Credit Agreement). The other terms and conditions of the ABL Facility remain substantially unchanged. The benchmark interest rate applicable to the loans under the ABL Facility is the forward-looking secured overnight financing rate.

On December 1, 2023, the Company entered into Amendment No. 7 (the “ABL Amendment”) to the ABL Credit Agreement, by and among the Company, Jill Acquisition LLC, J.Jill Gift Card Solutions, Inc. (collectively, the “Borrowers”), the other guarantors party thereto, the other lenders party thereto, and CIT Finance LLC, as the administrative agent and collateral agent. The ABL Amendment made a technical revision for administrative purposes which removed the requirement for a Borrower’s non-negotiable bill of lading, non-negotiable sea waybill or other similar shipping document (each a “Non-Negotiable Document”) to state on its face that the inventory that is subject to such Non-Negotiable Document is subject to the lien of the administrative agent. In connection with removing this requirement, a $500,000 in-transit inventory reserve amount will be applied to eligible in-transit inventory on the borrowing base certificate during any period in which excess liability is less than $5.0 million. This increase in the reserve decreases the borrowing base by the same amount during an in- transit inventory reserve period.

The ABL Facility consists of revolving loans and swing line loans. Borrowings classified as revolving loans under the ABL Facility may be maintained as either Term SOFR or Base Rate loans, each of which has a variable interest rate plus an applicable margin. Borrowings classified as swing line loans under the ABL Facility are Base Rate loans. Term SOFR loans under the ABL Facility accrue interest at a rate equal to Term SOFR plus a spread ranging from 2.25% to 2.50%, depending on borrowing amounts. Base Rate loans under the ABL Facility accrue interest at a rate equal to (i) the greatest of (a) the financial institution’s prime rate, (b) the overnight Federal Funds Effective Rate plus 0.50%, (c) Adjusted Term SOFR (as adjusted by any Floor) plus 1.00% (ii) a spread ranging from 1.25% to 1.50%, depending on borrowing amounts.

Interest on each Term SOFR loan is payable on the last day of each interest period and no more than quarterly, and interest on each Base Rate loan is payable in arrears on the last business day of April, July, October and January. For both Term SOFR and Base Rate loans, interest is payable periodically upon repayment, conversion or maturity, with interest periods ranging between 30 to 180 days at the election of the Company, or 12 months with the consent of all lenders.

The ABL Facility also requires the quarterly payment, in arrears, of a commitment fee. The commitment fee is payable in an amount equal to (i) 0.375% for each calendar quarter during which historical excess availability is greater than 50% of availability, and (ii) 0.25% for each calendar quarter during which historical excess availability is less than or equal to 50% of availability.

The Company had no short-term borrowings under the Company’s ABL Facility as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024. During the fiscal year ended February 1, 2025, no amount was drawn or outstanding under the ABL Facility. Based on the terms of the agreement and the increase for the letters of credit, the Company’s available borrowing capacity under the ABL Facility as of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024 was $35.7 million and $34.2 million, respectively.

The Company incurred an immaterial amount of interest expense related to the ABL facility for Fiscal Years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

The Company incurred an immaterial amount of ABL interest amortization being booked over maturity of the ABL for Fiscal Years 2024, 2023, and 2022.

Borrowings under the ABL Facility are secured by a first lien on accounts receivable and inventory. In connection with the ABL Facility, the Company is subject to various financial reporting (including with respect to liquidity), financial and other covenants. Affirmative covenants include providing timely quarterly and annual financial statements and prompt notification of the occurrence of

any event of default or any other event, change or circumstance that has had, or could reasonably be expected to have, a material adverse effect as defined in the ABL Facility. In addition, there are negative covenants, including certain restrictions on the Company’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, create liens, enter into transactions with affiliates, transfer assets, pay dividends, consolidate or merge with other entities, make advances, investments and loans or modify its organizational documents. The ABL Facility also includes certain financial maintenance covenants, including a requirement to maintain a fixed charge coverage ratio greater than or equal to 1.00:1.00 if availability under the ABL Facility is less than specified levels. As of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, the Company was in compliance with all financial covenants in effect.

If an event of default occurs under the ABL Facility, the Company’s obligations may be accelerated. In addition, a 2.00% interest surcharge will be imposed on overdue amounts.

Letters of Credit

As of February 1, 2025 and February 3, 2024, there were outstanding letters of credit of $4.3 million and $5.8 million, respectively, which reduced the availability under the ABL Facility. As of February 1, 2025, the maximum commitment for letters of credit was $15.0 million. Letters of credit accrue interest at a rate equal to the applicable margin with respect to revolving loans maintained as Term SOFR loans under the ABL facility. The Company primarily used letters of credit to secure payment of workers’ compensation claims and customs bonds. Letters of credit are generally obtained for a one-year term and automatically renew annually and would only be drawn upon if the Company fails to comply with its contractual obligations.

Payments of Long-term Debt Obligations Due by Period

As of February 1, 2025, the minimum future principal amounts payable under the Company’s outstanding long-term debt consists of the remaining Term Loan Facility principal balance of $74.3 million due upon maturity on May 8, 2028.

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Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Apr 1, 2025Showing above
2020Jun 15, 2020
2019Apr 8, 2019
2018Apr 13, 2018

About Debt Disclosures

Debt disclosures detail a company's borrowing structure — the types of instruments, interest rates, maturity schedule, and covenant restrictions that define its financial obligations and flexibility. This section is essential for assessing refinancing risk, interest rate exposure, and the margin of safety against financial distress.

Key signals: the maturity schedule reveals concentration risk — large maturities within 1-2 years during tight credit markets can force dilutive refinancing or asset sales. Compare the fair value of debt against carrying amount to gauge whether the market views the company's credit risk differently than the balance sheet suggests. Watch covenant compliance disclosures for tightening cushions, especially leverage and interest coverage ratios. Variable-rate debt exposure quantifies sensitivity to interest rate changes. Secured versus unsecured mix affects recovery rates and future borrowing capacity. Compare net debt-to-EBITDA against industry peers and covenant limits to assess financial health.