WH Smith has completed a £400 million bank refinancing in a bid to support its expanding retail division.
The omnichannel retailer has revealed its existing £363 million lending facilities, which consisted of a £250 million revolving credit facility (RCF) and a £113 million term loan have been repaid and cancelled.
As a result, the company will be investing in its expanding travel business, which accounts for 70% of its sales and around 85% of its profits.
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This comes as the company reported a 31% increase in sales, during the 13 weeks ended 27 May 2023.
“The new facilities, which are on improved terms, support our strategic ambitions to grow our global travel retail business,” WH Smith CFO and COO Robert Moorhead said.
“We look forward to working with our banks to deliver significant growth opportunities in our global travel retail markets.”
A raft of banks provided the refinancing, which included Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi Commercial Bank, Fifth Third, HSBC, JP Morgan, PNC, Santander and SEB.
