JD Sports lines up £75m funding package
JD Sports Fashion has agreed a £75m funding package through a syndicated banking deal.
Barclays Corporate, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland have joined forces to refinance the Bury-based retail chain’s existing debt and provide growth funding.
Barclays has put in £30m with HSBC, Lloyds and RBS each contributing £15m each.
Following its recent acquisition of Champion Sports in Ireland, JD now has a total of 563 stores including 30 stores in Ireland and 76 stores in France.
Finance director Brian Small said: “We are delighted with the support we have received from Barclays Corporate and the other members of our bank group. This has enabled us to establish the required facilities to support our continued growth.”
Dave Culshaw, relationship director at Barclays, said: “JD Sports Fashion is a long-standing customer of Barclays dating back 21 years. We are delighted to have been associated with such a success story over the intervening period including their stock market flotation in 1996 when there were just 56 stores.
“By continuing to provide the finance to support their ongoing strategic plans, I’m confident JD will take full advantage of the growth opportunities in the markets they operate in.”
The company announced a seventh year of sales and earnings growth yesterday, as profits surged 21% to £81.5m. Sales in the year to January 29 rose 15% to £883.6m. The final dividend rose 31% to 19.2p.
