Liverpool value retail giant B&M secures new credit facilities totalling £450m from syndicate of seven banks. Tony McDonough reports
Discount retail giant B&M says it has refinanced its bank facilities to the tune of £450m.
South Liverpool-based B&M, which operates more than 1,100 outlets, says it has secured the refinancing via a syndicate of seven banks. The £450m total includes a £225m term loan and a £225m revolving credit facility.
This has a five-year maturity, plus two additional one-year extension options subject to mutual consent with the bank syndicate.
In a statement to the stock exchange B&M said: “Together these will fully cover our anticipated bank borrowing requirements and they replace the existing £300m term loan and £155m RCF that were expected to mature in April 2025.
“Due to the applicable terms of the security structure of the group’s borrowings, Heron Foods Limited and Heron Food Group Limited will now also act as guarantors of the group Facilities and also the the outstanding £400m 2025 senior secured notes, and its £250m 2028 senior secured notes.”
Along with another Liverpool-based rival, Home Bargains, B&M has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to a growing appetite from consumers for value retailing.
According to the last trading update in January, B&M has 1,133 stores. This includes 705 UK B&M outlets and 113 B&M stores in France. It also runs 315 Heron frozen food stores in the UK.
In that update it reported revenues in its so-called ‘golden quarter’ in the run up to Christmas had risen 12.3% to £1.57bn
All three strands of the business saw sales rise during the final quarter of 2022. B&M UK saw sales of just over £1.3bn, B&M France £136m and Heron £129m. Total revenues for its fiscal year to date stand at £3.87bn, ahead of £3.67bn achieved a year ago.
B&M reported a “very good performance” across all B&M UK categories, both in grocery and general merchandise. It added that “excellent” sell-through in key general merchandise ranges supporting improved gross margin performance.
Chief executive Alex Russo, who took over from the retiring Simon Arora in September, said: “Our strong momentum throughout the golden quarter across the businesses demonstrates the strength of our unchanged strategy to relentlessly focus on price, product and excellence in retail execution.”