WH Smith has completed a bank refinancing to support its plans to continue growing its successful Travel retail division.
The group’s existing £363m lending facilities, consisting of a £250m revolving credit facility (RCF) and a £113m term loan have been cancelled and repaid. The repayment was funded by drawings under new facilities consisting of a £400m RCF. The new five-year RCF is a sustainability-linked loan finance facility.
Robert Moorhead, WH Smith’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, commented: “We are delighted to complete this refinancing. The new facilities, which are on improved terms, support our strategic ambitions to grow our global travel retail business. We look forward to working with our banks to deliver the significant growth opportunities in our global travel retail markets.”
Last month, WH Smith upped its full-year expectations as its stores operating in travel hubs continued to perform well even before the peak trading season.
In an update for the 13 weeks to 27 May, the book and stationery retailer revealed that total sales in its Travel division had climbed 31% year-on-year, with like-for-like growth of 18%.
