Dixons to get £59m as part of lease deal
ELECTRICALS retailer Dixons has agreed the sale and leaseback of its Nordic distribution centre in Sweden in a bid to reduce its debts.
Dixons, which owns the Currys and PC World brands, has exchanged contracts with a syndicate of investors with a deal due for completion on 23 June.
The total cash payable is SEK600m (£59m).
The proceeds of the sale will be used to help keep the company’s £200m debt pile under control. Dixons was advised by DTZ in the deal for the centre in Jönköping.
The company said in a statement: “The proceeds of the sale will be used for general corporate purposes, including offsetting drawings on the revolving credit facility and for repayment of the 6.125 per cent November 2012 bonds.”
Dixons, which is planning a further £50m of cuts in each of the next three years, has been hit by a decline in sales across most markets but its Nordic business has been thriving.
While group sales at Dixons fell by two per cent over the year, its star performer was the Nordic region, which grew underlying sales by nine per cent.
The company has seen the iPad 2 boost sales more recently, after it was hit by two profit warnings. Dixons now expects to report pre-tax profit of around £85m.
Dixons, which also runs UniEuro in Italy, Kotsovolos in Greece and Elkjop in Nordic countries, has an estimated 22 per cent of sales of consumer electrical goods in Britain.
It has recently opened new format stores in an attempt to breathe new life into the business, which employs over 40,000 people. Its shares fell 6.1 per cent in trading yesterday and closed 1.7 per cent down.