Morrisons cuts debt by £261m through refinancing deal
The latest refinancing brings the total debt repaid since Morrisons was acquired by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) in October 2021 to £2.7bn
Morrisons has cut its debt by £261m after completing a refinancing deal that also extends the maturity of its loans.
The supermarket chain said it had issued a £930m equivalent sterling and euro bond maturing in January 2031, secured a new £450m term loan maturing in November 2030, and repurchased £1.19bn of sterling and euro bonds due in 2027 along with £450m of unsecured notes.
The latest refinancing brings the total debt repaid since Morrisons was acquired by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) in October 2021 to £2.7bn. The retailer said it now has £3.5bn of outstanding debt.
Jo Goff, chief financial officer of Morrisons, said: “We’re continuing to build a stronger, customer focused Morrisons, renewing and modernising the business, while maintaining the traditional values that are our foundation.
“Against this backdrop, I’m very pleased with our further progress on debt reduction, with our debt levels now around 43% lower than in October 2021, whilst our retail estate remains over 80% freehold.”
Morrisons began a £1bn debt buyback plan in May following the £2.5bn sale of its petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel Group in April.
The retailer has also been pressing ahead with a turnaround plan. In March it announced plans to close 52 cafés, all 18 of its Market Kitchens, 17 convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies under a major operational shake-up.
