// Morrisons reveals £1.5bn loss after being bought by US private equity firm CD&R
// The grocer was acquired by CD&R in October 2021 for £7 billion in exchange for private equity
Morrisons has racked up £1.5 billion of losses, a year after being bought by US private equity firm CD&R.
The grocer was acquired by CD&R in October 2021 for £7 billion, in a debt-fuelled deal led by former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy.
The deal saw £6.1 billion of debt piled onto Morrisons’ balance sheet, resulting in large interest payments and high exposure to increases in borrowing rates.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
The current loss of £1.5bn, posted on Companies House, also accounts for £400m cost that the business took as interest payments.
The year before being taken over, Morrisons was the UK’s fourth-biggest supermarket and reported a £201 million annual profit. Last year it was leapfrogged by Aldi, booting it out of grocery’s Big 4.
Last week, the Bradford-based grocer put over 1,000 jobs at risk with its plans to ditch at least 83 property maintenance suppliers.
The grocer is looking to shift to a single provider for repairs as it ditches suppliers.
Morrisons is also likely to lay off up to 50 staff dealing with property maintenance at its Bradford head office and around the UK.
