Wolverhampton & Dudley plugs pension deficit after refinancing
Pub operator and brewer Wolverhampton & Dudley slices FRS17 pension deficit to £30m after debt refinancing
The brewer of Banks’ Original and Mansfield Bitter ales, Wolverhampton &
Dudley, has reduced its pension deficit under FRS17 with a one-off £29m
contribution to its final salary scheme.
The FTSE250 group was able to make the contribution after refinancing debt by
replacing existing debentures and bank debt with a new £250m bank facility and a
£805m securitisation.
‘The new financing structure provides greater flexibility for acquisitions,
increases the average maturity of the group’s debt and also reduces the cash
cost of debt by some £5 million per year,’ the pub operator said in a trading
statement before it entered its close period.
The combined effect of the refinancing and pension contribution is expected
to reduce interest charged in the profit and loss account by £1.5m per year.