Wilko in talks over £30m emergency loan
Wilko is considering a £30 million emergency loan to get through the Christmas shopping season, according to The Times.
The announcement comes just weeks after the company was reported to be exploring a variety of cost-cutting measures due to “soaring inflation and supply delays.”
The business is thought to be exploring other lenders after failing to gain an extension to its revolving credit arrangement.
Despite this, Wilko CEO Jerome Saint-Marc stated that the company’s relationship with its present lenders remains strong.
He said: “Our relationship with our lending partners is solid. The recent sale and leaseback of our distribution centre to DHL earlier this week unlocked £48m which has enabled us to repay our revolving credit facility in full.
“We’re taking this opportunity, now that the deal is done, to review how we manage our ongoing financing to best trade through the current retail environment while continuing to invest in our future.”
Wilko completed the £48 million sale and leaseback of its Worksop distribution centre a little more than a week ago.
The purchase was the company’s first in a series of “transformational efficiencies.
Saint-Marc said at the time there was “no denying the way people shop with us and where they want to shop with us is changing.”
Wilko currently has 402 stores and employs around 16,000 people.