Sweet Dreams? Refinancing edges closer

Dreams, the struggling bed retailer, will move a step closer to a refinancing package this week when advisers to its banks make presentations on the management's strategic plans.

The 270-store retailer's main lender, Royal Bank of Scotland, instructed the accountancy firm Grant Thornton and Pragma Consulting to conduct due diligence on the business plan of Dreams' chief executive Nick Worthington and chairman Steve Johnson.

In 2008, the private equity firm, Exponent, acquired Dreams from its founder Mike Clare, who still owns a 10 per cent stake, in a deal worth more than £200m.

Dreams' banks are keen for it to have a more appropriate debt structure for the current challenging trading conditions on the high street. It was last reported that the company has around £32m debt on its balance sheet.

However, its trading is understood to have improved over recent weeks and the banks are thought to be relatively relaxed about the situation. All parties declined to comment.