Asda has raised £155m through a private loan, pushing back its repayment deadlines for its near-term debt.

The supermarket said the issuance will be added to its existing Euro loan and be used “alongside a similar quantum of cash from the balance sheet to address remaining maturities due in 2025 and 2026.”

It is understood this decision has reduced financial pressure on the supermarket giant and is expected to give Asda more flexibility.

This move by Asda comes after credit rating agency Fitch flagged that a looming repayment to former owner Walmart, which was due for repayment by 2028, could have resulted in the grocer needing to refinance.

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Asda, which has a current debt pile of around £6bn, refinanced more than £3.2bn of debt in May.

Speaking to The Telegraph earlier this week, a spokesperson from Asda said: “Asda is a highly cash-generative business with a strong and stable capital structure, enabling us to invest in our colleagues and new customer propositions while simultaneously reducing leverage, which has decreased from x4.1 to x3.0 over the last 18 months.

“Asda’s net debt at the end of Q3 2024 was £3.8bn – a £100m reduction on the previous quarter – and the business is committed to deleveraging.”

Last month Asda named former CEO Allan Leighton as its executive chairman, succeeding Lord Stuart Rose, in a bid to turnaround the retailer’s flagging performance and arrest its recent slump in sales.