A £650m sale-and-leaseback deal in March has helped Tesco reduce debt from £4.1bn at the year-end to £3.5bn on August 14.
Capital expenditure is expected to reach £2.5bn this year, including the acquisition of 10 stores from William Morrison this week.
Tesco plans to open its 100th Extra hypermarket by the end of the year.
References: Financial Times 22/09/04 page 22 (Lex), page 23, page 24 (Lombard), The Guardian 22/09/04 page 19, The Independent 22/09/04 page 36
