Burberry repays Covid loan boosted by online demand

Burberry has just repaid a 300 million pounds loan from the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF.) The luxury brand was able to do that thanks to the strong online business and peaking demand amongst Chinese wealthy consumers.

The luxury fashion brand is also set to repay the 7 million pounds injection it received in business rates relief, a spokesman confirmed earlier this week.

Burberry said online sales in China grew by a ‘triple digit’ percentage in the third quarter, covering the 13 weeks to Boxing Day, part of a 50 percent global rise. But shop sales fell by 9 percent, points out the ‘Financial Times’.

A spokesman at the luxury retailer said the firm had repaid the cash a month early. “We believe this is the right thing to do in the context of our improved third-quarter trading performance and financial stability, secured through rigorous cash management and the introduction of long-term funding via our sustainability bond,” he added.

Photo credit: Burberry