El Corte Inglés to close stores in Madrid region and pay off 1,000M€ of debt
What: El Corte Inglés is preparing to go public by brushing off some stores and repaying a part of its debt and selling off three units including the Men’s store in Madrid, calle Serrano.
Why it is important: The focus is on stores that the group owns, and debt will be at its lowest point in 15 years: those are strong arguments before going public.
El Corte Inglés has announced that 2 units in the Madrid region will be closed at the end of August 2022: Vaguada and Parquesur, following the non-renewal of leases concluded with the owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. As a consequence, 500 employees will be affected and affected to other retail units.
In parallel, the group will be paying off EUR 1,000M of debt following the deal with insurance company Mutua Madrilena which acquired 8% of the capital and 50% of the insurance branch company, for a total of EUR 1,105M. This move is perceived as a way to make the company more attractive prior to potentially going public.
El Corte Inglés will be closing the Serrano 52 store, which was open in 2015 to house a men’s store, by the 1st of August 2022. The men’s offer will be transferred to the store located in Calle Serrano n°47, and has launched the process of selling off the real estate.
Two other owned stores located in Cordoba and Sevilla are also to be sold and intermediaries have been solicited.
