COVID-19 and Business Update

RNS Number : 3422H

McColl's Retail Group plc

24 March 2020

 

COVID-19 and Business Update

Helping the local communities we serve

24 March 2020 - McColl's Retail Group plc ("the Group"), the UK convenience retailer, today provides a business update regarding the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

During this period of uncertainty and unprecedented disruption, our priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers. We continue to closely monitor the latest Government advice and offer our support to the Government to help serve local communities across the UK.

Current trading

All our stores are currently open and well-placed to serve our communities. We have put in place a range of policies designed to protect our colleagues and customers, keep our stores open and trading safely, and to enable our head office to support our stores via remote working arrangements.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK, the Group has responded proactively to current strong demand. We continue to work with our wholesale partners, whilst investigating complementary channels, to supply the essential products our customers need at this time.

Financing and liquidity

We retain a supportive relationship with our lending banks, and, as previously announced on 28^th February 2020, the Group's bank facilities have been successfully amended and extended to a revised maturity date in May 2022.

Notwithstanding the increased demand we are currently experiencing and, given the high degree of uncertainty relating to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Group is taking proactive actions to preserve cash, manage working capital, maximise liquidity, and phase capital expenditure appropriately. We have also prudently modelled a range of potential future downside scenarios, which we are confident we have the financial and operational flexibility to deal with.

The Group acknowledges the measures of support outlined by the Government, which would further benefit liquidity.

Jonathan Miller, Chief Executive, said: "The health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to us and informs all that we do.

"I would like to thank all of our colleagues who are working incredibly hard to keep the neighbourhood communities we serve supplied with the food, goods and services they need on a daily basis. Given the situation, we urge our customers - over half of whom live within just 400m of our stores - to buy only what they need and to help the elderly and vulnerable with their shopping needs if they are able to do so."

Enquiries

Please visit www.mccollsplc.co.uk or for further information, please contact:

McColl's Retail Group plc   Media enquiries:

Jonathan Miller, Chief Executive Officer  Headland

Robbie Bell, Chief Financial Officer  Ed Young, Rob Walker, Charlie Twigg

[phone]  [phone]

Notes to editors

McColl's is a leading neighbourhood retailer, with an estate of over 1,400 managed convenience stores and newsagents. We operate McColl's branded convenience stores as well as newsagents branded Martin's across the UK, except in Scotland where we operate under our heritage brand, RS McColl. Our dedicated colleagues serve five million customers every week, and we are the largest operator of Post Offices in the UK.

 

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