Next Puts HQ And Warehouses Up For Sale

Next has put its Enderby, Leicester headquarters and three warehouses in West Yorkshire up for sale to help secure its future amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The retailer anticipates that the sale of the sites will raise around £100m.

Next's CEO, Lord Wolfson, said: "We have modelled the effects of differing levels of sales declines along with all the measures we can take to ensure that the company remains within its bond and bank facilities," 

"Our industry is facing a crisis that is unprecedented in living memory, but we believe our balance sheet and margins mean that we can weather the storm.

"The crisis will pass at some point. At that time it will be the work we do to move the business forward that will determine our future success."

Next closed all 16 of its warehouses and online business on 26th March, stating: 

"NEXT has listened very carefully to its colleagues working in Warehousing and Distribution Operations to fulfil Online orders.  It is clear that many increasingly feel they should be at home in the current climate. 

"NEXT has therefore taken the difficult decision to temporarily close its Online, Warehousing and Distribution Operations from this evening, Thursday 26 March 2020. NEXT will not be taking any more Online orders after this time until further notice."

On the 3rd April, Next announced that it had received confirmation that it is eligible to access funding under the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) - a facility from HM Treasury and the Bank of England designed to support liquidity among larger firms, helping them to bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through the purchase of short-term debt in the form of commercial paper. 

Source : Insight DIY Team

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