Asda refinances £3.2bn of debt

Asda said on Friday that it has successfully refinanced more than £3.2bn of its debt, pushing out the majority of its maturities into the next decade.

The refinancing, which completed on Thursday, included the biggest sterling high-yield bond this year and the second-largest sterling bond in the European leveraged finance market. This was only behind Asda’s original £2.25bn sterling bond tranche in 2021.

The supermarket chain said "strong" investor demand enabled it to raise £1.75bn of senior secured notes and upsize by more than £200m.

Asda also successfully extended the maturity of its revolving credit facility from August 2025 to October 2028 and was able to upsize this facility from £667m to £748m in connection with the wider refinancing.

Chief financial officer Michael Gleeson said: "We saw strong demand from investors after taking a thoughtful and prudent approach to refinancing our near-term debt well ahead of maturities - to further strengthen our balance sheet.

"The positive reaction followed Asda’s strong FY23 results - and Moody’s upgrade of its corporate rating to B1 from B2 last week citing a material reduction in leverage and growth in underlying free cashflow.

"The refinancing also reflects the wider strength of Asda as a diversified retail group with a strong grocery business at its core supported by a fantastic non-food offering in George and following recent investments, a major presence in the high-growth convenience and food-service markets."