Debenhams to have merry Christmas? £50m cash injection should strengthen festive trading

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 10, 2019

With Christmas coming up, retailers need serious funding to get through the period and Debenhams has landed a secured £50 million deal with some of its current lenders on largely the same terms as the £200 million loan it negotiated back in the spring.

It means the company has the means to get products onto shelves and to market them to customers effectively in what should be the biggest shopping season of the year.

CEO Stefaan Vansteenkiste said: "We are delighted that our investor consortium have reaffirmed their commitment to the business by making available additional financing support for our peak trading period. We are in a strong position to continue to invest in marketing and new product initiatives as we prepare for the important Christmas season.”

The ability to order stock and for suppliers to feel confident that they’ll be paid for what they supply is crucial for any retailer and having overflowing real or virtual shelves is key in grabbing consumer interest. There’s nothing like the prospect of a thinly-spread product offer for discouraging store footfall and online traffic during the festive shopping season.

This has been a problem faced by House of Fraser and Debenhams is clearly determined to put itself in a strong position against one of its biggest rivals in the months ahead.