John Lewis Partnership plans to sell a dozen Waitrose stores in a sale-and-leaseback deal estimated at about £150m.
The partnership, which fell to another loss in the first half of this year, is understood to be exploring options to raise capital, including a sale-and-leaseback deal on 12 of its 329 Waitrose stores to help monetise parts of its store estate and reinvest in the business.
The mutual, which includes the eponymous department store chain, has come under pressure in recent months as debts have grown to £1.7bn, with borrowings of £350m due to be repaid in the next two years. It also needs funds for its restructuring programme, which is taking longer than it had originally hoped.
Property is the largest single asset on the partnership’s £6.7bn balance sheet. Its stores were valued at £2.9bn at the end of last year. The partnership owns 35 department stores and 329 Waitrose shops.
CBRE is acting as the agent for the partnership. Marketing of stores could begin next week and is likely to include supermarkets in the south of England with 20-year inflation-linked leases.
