Very Group secures £598m refinancing deal
Summary
The Very Group, the retailer behind Very.co.uk and Littlewoods, has announced a significant step in its refinancing strategy, securing a private placement of \xa3598 million.Set to be issued 2 June , the privately placed notes will be used to redeem Verys existing \xa3575 million senior secured notes maturing in August 2026. The new facility will mature in February 2027 and will provide the business with greater financial flexibility.Additionally, the company has extended the maturity on its senior term loan facility, originally dated 16 February 2024, to 1 August 2027. A further \xa342.8 million has been drawn under the facility to support general corporate purposes, including the cost of the refinancing process.Ben Fletcher, Chief Finance and Transformation Officer at The Very Group, commented: "We committed to a timely and transparent refinancing of our existing debt, and I am delighted to be able to share this update. ""Our business is performing strongly as evidenced by our first half results, and todays announcement allows us to focus on the continued delivery of our plan, with the ongoing support of our partners IMI and Carlyle. To tackle rising debts, the Barclays are expected to float a sale for their online shopping empire in the coming months.A total of \xa3107.7 million was reportedly taken out of the holding company for The Very Group in 2022 as Lloyds Banking Group prepared to send in receivers to chase vast unpaid loans totalling \xa31.2 billion the following summer, according to The Telegraph.Directors Aidan and Howard Barclay admitted that its growing debts have caused "uncertainty over the future of the company" as well as the familys wider business empire.