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Topps Tile has agreed a sale and leaseback of its head office and central warehouse building to UK Warehouse Properties for £18.1m amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The retailer revealed the proceeds from the sale of the properties situated in Leicester and will “further strengthen” the group’s financial position as it responds to the Covid-19 crisis.
The consideration of the sale will be paid in cash on completion which is expected to take place this month.
Based on the group’s net debt position at 29 May 2020, at completion of the sale, the group would have net debt of £7m with £42m of available liquidity, which includes the credit approved CLBILS £10m loan facility which the company announced on 19 May 2020.
The news comes after Topps Tiles reported pre-tax losses of £4m for the half-year period ended 28 March, down from the profits of £5.2m it made during the same period in 2019.
First half like-for-like sales declined by 6.1%. Excluding week 26, when all stores were closed due to Covid-19, like-for-like sales decreased by only 4.3% due to the “challenging trading environment.
Additionally, group revenues slumped by 3.7% during the period to £106m.
The retailer closed stores on 23 March 2020 in order to “safeguard colleagues and customers”. Despite this, Topps Tiles recently re-launched its website, which it said has “performed well” with revenues c.3x pre-crisis levels.
