Very Group secures £598m refinancing deal

The Very Group, the retailer behind Very.co.uk and Littlewoods, has announced a significant step in its refinancing strategy, securing a private placement of £598 million.

Set to be issued 2 June , the privately placed notes will be used to redeem Very’s existing £575 million senior secured notes maturing in August 2026.  The company noted that the new notes’ maturity could be extended to August 2030.

The Very Group has also secured commitments for a new £150 million super senior revolving credit facility, replacing its previous two facilities (£50 million senior secured and £100 million super senior). The new facility will mature in February 2027 and will provide the business with greater financial flexibility.

Additionally, the company has extended the maturity on its senior term loan facility, originally dated 16 February 2024, to 1 August 2027. A further £42.8 million has been drawn under the facility to support general corporate purposes, including the cost of the refinancing process.

Ben Fletcher, Chief Finance and Transformation Officer at The Very Group, commented: "We committed to a timely and transparent refinancing of our existing debt, and I am delighted to be able to share this update. Extending the Group’s financial maturities out until 2027 demonstrates the continued confidence of our partners in The Very Group."

"Our business is performing strongly as evidenced by our first half results, and today’s announcement allows us to focus on the continued delivery of our plan, with the ongoing support of our partners IMI and Carlyle. I would like to thank all our advisors for their support."

Looking ahead, the group expects to report an adjusted EBITDA between £300 million and £305 million for FY25, with projections rising to £305 million to £320 million for FY26.

Back in December, it came to light that the Barclay family, owners of The Very Group, took more than £100 million of dividends from the business in the months leading up to bankers chasing long-overdue debts. To tackle rising debts, the Barclays are expected to float a sale for their online shopping empire in the coming months.

A total of £107.7 million was reportedly taken out of the holding company for The Very Group in 2022 as Lloyds Banking Group prepared to send in receivers to chase vast unpaid loans totalling £1.2 billion the following summer, according to The Telegraph.

Directors Aidan and Howard Barclay admitted that its growing debts have caused "uncertainty over the future of the company" as well as the family’s wider business empire.