Findel repairs balance sheet

Home shopping group Findel is raising £80m via a rights issue as part of a restructuring of its balance sheet. A five-for-two rights issue at 6.54p a share will raise £75m net. There will also be a placing at 8.53p a share raising £495,000 in order to enable directors to buy shares. Chief executive Roger Siddle will invest £400,000 of that cash. A debt restructuring along with the rights issue and placing cash will help to reduce net debt by £110.5m. New lending facilities lasting five years have been negotiated. There is a £196.8m revolving credit facility and a £105m securitisation facility. Convertible shares will be swapped for £40m of existing debt. Sales in the 17 week period to the end of January 2011 were slightly lower. The home shopping business has been hit by a backlog of catalogue deliveries during early January. The closure of schools during the poor weather hit the sales of the educational supplies division. Healthcare sales are slightly higher.