UK-based online retail giant, Asos, has announced it has raised £500m in convertible bonds to help fund its global expansion strategy.
According to an article by Cosmetics Business, the capital was raised following a record-breaking six month trading period for Asos. It saw gross profits increase by 19% on 2020’s books and UK sales grew 39% to £800.4m, compared to the previous year.
In a statement, the group said the bonds will provide the retailer with “additional flexibility to continue to invest behind its global growth strategy,” and the cash injection will also be used to refinance the business following Asos’ acquisition of four of bust Arcadia’s high street brands.
In its interim results (for the first six months to February 28), Asos highlighted the successful implementation of its Truly Global Retail (TGR) system, which has replaced its technology infrastructure with retail benefits that will support its global expansion. This involved an overhaul of Asos’ internal operating systems, with new tools to help improve the way it trades for global consumers.
As a bonus, a new fulfilment centre in the UK will house six million units and will be mobilised in 2023. An Atlanta-based warehouse in the USA is also expected to be operating during the same period, increasing stock capacity by 50%.
“We are delighted with our exceptional first-half performance and proud of the work our teams have put in to achieve this,” Asos CEO, Nick Beighton, said. “These record results, which include robust growth in sales, customer number and profitability, demonstrate the significant progress we have made against all of our strategic priorities and the strength of our execution capability.”
