Eddie Stobart accelerates into retail bonds

The public will now be able to count more than its motorway trucks after distribution firm Eddie Stobart entered the retail bond market, as it seeks to raise £25m.

The transport group has launched a product paying an annual fixed rate of 5.5 per cent over six years. Ben Whawell, the finance director at Stobart, said: "Following a successful UK roadshow to test market conditions for a retail bond issue, we are very pleased to announce our entry to the market." He added: "We enter the market on the back of significant expansion of the group, with developments in our air, biomass and estates divisions now delivering results and bringing benefits across the business."