LONDON (Reuters) -British supermarket group Asda has raised 568 million pounds ($742 million) from sale-and-leaseback agreements on 24 stores and a depot, it said on Thursday, providing a cash boost as sales continue to fall.
Asda, majority owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, said it plans to use the proceeds to fund investment in the business and reduce net leverage.
The group had net debt of 3.8 billion pounds at the end of last year.
Four stores have been sold to DTZ Investors and leased back, 10 stores and a depot at Lutterworth, central England, have been sold to Blue Owl Capital and leased back, and 10 stores have been sold to a joint venture between Blue Owl Capital and Supermarket Income REIT and leased back.
Asda, which trails industry leader Tesco and Sainsbury's, said all the properties are subject to 25-year lease agreements, with an option to renew for an additional 10 years. It will continue to operate all sites as normal.
Asda has been losing market share and is taking a hit to profit to reset its business.
It is expected to publish third-quarter results next week.
Industry data published earlier this month showed Asda's sales fell 3.9% over the 12 weeks to November 2 year-on-year, with its market share down 1 percentage point to 11.6%.
Asda is in danger of soon being overtaken by discounter Aldi, which has a market share of 10.6%.
Former owner Walmart retains a 10% stake in Asda.
($1 = 0.7651 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Muvija M and Jane Merriman)
