adminIn a statement yesterday, Truworths(South Africa) said that it has successfully concluded an agreement with Standard Bank to provide a pound-denominated loan of £32,5 million (around R600 million) to refinance its struggling UK shoe retailer Office.
“The board advises that the funding has been obtained on favourable commercial terms based on the strength of the Group’s balance sheet, and is secured by a guarantee furnished by the Truworths operations in South Africa,” Truworths said.
The loan of £32,5 million, together with £10,5 million of Office’s existing cash reserves, will be used to settle its existing pound-denominated debt of £43 million. Earlier, Truworths said that a large part of the debt was due next year.
Truworths warned that trading conditions for UK retailers remain challenging amid uncertainty ahead of the end-October 2019 Brexit deadline.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter