Dutch bed chain Beter Bed has closed new financing agreements with its banks, after the company was able to significantly reduce its debts. One of the major factors in the debt reduction was the divestment of its German subsidiary, Matratzen Concord.
Sale and lease back
Beter Bed has already repaid 16.7 million euros in debts: the sale of Matrazen Concord yielded 5 million. Beter Bed also sold three distribution centres in the Netherlands through a sale and lease back construction. The retailer now still has outstanding debts worth 23.3 million euros with the banks.
The new agreements with the banks stipulate that the total of the loans may not exceed 2.5 times the company’s normalised operating result (EBITDA). These bank agreements are tested every quarter, the first time on 31 December 2019. At the end of this year, Beter Bed expects to have a debt ratio of less than 1.5 times the EBITDA.
The company now intends to refinance its bank loans and a loan of 7 million euros granted by three major shareholders last summer. The refinancing must be completed by July 2020 at the latest.
