U.K. wholesaler Palmer & Harvey owes tens of millions of pounds to both Imperial Brands and Japan Tobacco, which are considering taking equity stakes in the co., Sky News says, citing people it didn’t name close to P&H.
- P&H, largest distributor to U.K. convenience stores, gets about 40% of revenue from Tesco, which may shift those contracts to Booker, a P&H rival it’s taking over, and some of wholesaler’s debt is secured by such contracts
- P&H spokeswoman confirmed to Sky it’s in talks with lenders, shareholders
- Barclays, Santander, GE Capital are part of P&H’s lending syndicate
- Sainsbury agreed to give financial support to P&H, which distributes tobacco products to its supermarkets
- Imperial Brands spokesman tells Sky it’s aware of P&H’s refinancing negotiations and is in talks with co. over range of options
- Japan Tobacco declines to comment
- NOTE: P&H distributes 15,000 products including alcohol, candy, groceries, snacks and beverages