MARKS AND SPENCER'S FINANCING Marks and Spencer, the chain store
proprietors, have made arrangements to finance their capital requirements up to an amount of £2,000,000. Mr. Simon Marks, in making that announcement at the meeting on Tuesday, explained that the company had so far used £500,000 of its borrowing powers and would shortly utilise a further £500,000. The money has been, and will be, borrowed at 4 per cent. interest for a fixed term of years secured by 41 per cent. debenture stock as collateral security. This arrangement does not rule out the possibility of an issue of share capital because the company retains the right to repay its loans at any time. They might, he said, take zt favourable opportunity to replace the loan by a share issue, but at present the board have no such intention. Mr. Marks once again gave some remarkable figures of the development of the business over the past 13 years. In 1927 the profit was £88,000 ; this year it is 41,782,000 ; over £ opoopoo has been invested in properties. During the past year the expenditure on properties amounted to L1,200,000, and he pointed out that the full benefit of that expenditure had not yet been felt. At the moment the company has 234 stores in operation and for the coming year plans four new stores, of which two are replacements, and ao extensions, absorbing over 050,000.
(Continued on page 832)
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