John Lewis repays government loan after strong festive period
John Lewis has announced it will pay back its £300m government loan almost two months early after a better-than-expected festive period.
The John Lewis Partnership announced it would pay back £300m of the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility which was due to be repaid in March of this year.
Under the CCFF, the Bank of England creates money and lends it directly to large companies by buying their short-term bonds.
While the partnership is repaying the loan early John Lewis continues to refuse to pay its business rates relief, after a flurry of supermarkets decided to hand back nearly £2bn in December.
The partnership cut 1,500 jobs in October as it set out a five-year plan to return to profitability. It said it was aiming to report£400m in profit by the end of the period after a dire year of trading as lockdown restrictions forced it to close.
But today John Lewis said trading in the festive period “held up better than anticipated”.
In its interims in September John Lewis said it expected to make a small loss or a small profit for the year, but it now expects full-year profits to be ahead of the guidance provided.
“Despite the head winds of the last year when John Lewis stores were closed for several months, and future trading volatility, the Partnership believes it has sufficient liquidity going forward,” the firm said.