Morrisons - comment

The main question we have about raising debt against property assets is, why? With no medium-term maturities, it is unlikely to be a matter of liability management. So far, this is all speculation, but a space worth watching. If a deal is struck, the likely UoP could be price support; if so, this would mark an escalation in price competition, which is a negative across the grocery space. The article suggests that the structure may be a secured loan (presumably at the property level) rather than a sale and leaseback, which would indicate a term of around ten years and would also be a clear layering of the senior secured bank debt.

https://news.sky.com/story/supermarket-giant-morrisons-explores-1bn-property-deal-13504032