Debenhams, the private equity-backed UK department stores group, should secure a £1.75bn (€2.5bn) refinancing this week after the lead underwriting banks sweetened the terms for banks buying into the syndication of the debt.

The lead banks – Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston – have been forced to boost the fees they are paying to a group of seven sub-underwriting banks and Alcentra, a debt asset manager, according to a source close to the syndication.