Retail malaise hits bond markets

THE wave of high street gloom has rippled out to the bond markets, with more than £200 million wiped off the value of retailers’ debt in two months.

Bond markets are seen by the City as a relatively safe place to invest with guaranteed annual returns plus money refunded in full when the debt matures.

But the value of debt raised by John Lewis, Debenhams, New Look, Matalan and Very.co.uk owner Shop Direct has slumped since the beginning of November. On Friday afternoon, New Look’s senior loan notes due in 2023 were changing hands for less than 20p for each pound originally raised, compared with around 26p at the end of October, while Debenhams had slumped by more than 20p in the pound to 54p.