Debenhams Group in talks over £175m refinancing deal

Debenhams Group, formerly Boohoo Group, is in discussions about a debt package worth as much as £175m.

The fashion giant has held talks about tapping the high yield market for £50m of the proposed total, The Telegraph reported.

The retail group is also understood to have held discussions with several asset-backed lenders, which take security over property, stock and intellectual property in case of insolvency.

It is expected the remaining £125m will come from refinancing an existing two-year loan taken out in October, which was described by the group’s largest shareholder Mike Ashley as “the worst refinancing deal that a public company has done in living memory”.

A spokesman from the fashion giant told the publication: “Having become Debenhams Group, we are currently at the early stages of evaluating our financing arrangements.

“In December we paid back £97m of debt and we are now considering the refinancing of our £125m revolving credit facility, well ahead of its term ending in October 2026.

“Debenhams is back and under a new management team it is right for us to assess the ideal financing structure to underpin our ambitious growth plans.”

Boohoo announced in March it was rebranding to Debenhams Group as recently appointed chief executive Dan Finley sought to shift the entire business to a marketplace model.

Finley said the successful turnaround of Debenhams will act as “our blueprint for the wider turnaround of the group” after it reported that sales had fallen 16% from £1.46bn to £1.22bn in the 52 weeks to February 2025.

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