Morrisons explores £1bn property-backed financing options – report

British supermarket concatenation Morrisons is considering a property-backed financing woody that could unlock up to £1bn ($1.36bn).

The grocer has asked the US-based real-estate services institution CBRE to analyse ways to rise funds against portion of its store estate, sources told Sky News.

According to the report, the reappraisal remains astatine an aboriginal signifier and is not expected to impact a accepted sale-and-leaseback, a operation agelong utilized by large UK supermarket chains.

Among the possibilities being explored is medium-term to semipermanent borrowing secured connected a enactment of supermarkets.

The magnitude raised could scope £1bn, though neither the eventual format nor standard has been fixed.

Morrisons operates astir 500 supermarkets crossed the UK and has a workforce of astir 95,000.

It was taken backstage successful 2021 by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) successful a transaction valued astatine astir £10bn, including debt.

Results person been uneven since the buyout, and Aldi moved up of Morrisons past year, pushing it into 5th spot among UK market chains by sales.

To stabilise the concern and reverse the downward trend, Morrisons appointed erstwhile Carrefour enforcement Rami Baitieh arsenic its main enforcement successful 2023.

A root cited successful the study said that unlocking £1bn done a sale-and-leaseback oregon different leverage-based transaction would inactive permission Morrisons owning astir 60% of its stores outright.

The retailer has been reducing borrowings taken connected during CD&R’s acquisition and inactive has astir £1bn of takeover concern outstanding.

The root added that with nary near-term indebtedness maturities, determination is nary contiguous unit to implicit a spot deal.

During the 2021 bidding process, CD&R pledged not to transportation retired large freehold disposals for a constricted period.

Morrisons’ spot enactment has since mostly focused connected selling non-store assets.

In 2024, the radical partnered with Song Capital, which paid £370m for the close to person income from 75 supermarkets for 45 years.

Retail Insight Network has contacted Morrisons for a comment.

Last month, Morrisons reported results showing what it described arsenic “strong” Christmas trading.

"Morrisons explores £1bn property-backed financing options – report" was primitively created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.

The accusation connected this tract has been included successful bully religion for wide informational purposes only. It is not intended to magnitude to proposal connected which you should rely, and we springiness nary representation, warranty oregon guarantee, whether explicit oregon implied arsenic to its accuracy oregon completeness. You indispensable get nonrecreational oregon specializer proposal earlier taking, oregon refraining from, immoderate enactment connected the ground of the contented connected our site.