New Ashley Stewart, Inc. Completes Credit Facility with TD Bank, N.A.

SECAUCUS, N.J. and BOSTON, Feb. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashley Stewart and TD Bank have jointly announced that they have entered into a $12 million senior secured revolving credit facility arranged by TD Bank's Commercial Lending Group.  The asset based lending agreement includes cash management solutions that will streamline financial operations of the business.  

"Our new bank facility with TD Bank is a key step in positioning Ashley Stewart for future growth and materially increases our financial flexibility.  We look forward to working with TD Bank as we add new stores and aggressively grow our global e-commerce business, AshleyStewart.com" said Laura Weil, Chief Executive Officer of New Ashley Stewart, Inc.

"We at TD Bank are pleased to be able to provide Ashley Stewart with the capital and cash management resources they need to grow. We're proud to bring our expertise and financial solutions into this partnership to help Ashley Stewart meet their goals," said Peter R. White, Managing Director, Sponsor Finance, TD Bank.

About Ashley Stewart Ashley Stewart currently operates 186 stores in 25 states.  Since the early 1990's, Ashley Stewart (www.ashleystewart.com) has been styling customers and setting fashion trends for the plus-size fashion industry. The Ashley Stewart brand is truly an eclectic mix. It is fashion forward, sexy and inspirational. It provides the customer with head-to-toe outfits from trendy sportswear to lingerie to outerwear. Ashley Stewart dresses women from the bedroom to the boardroom. Fashion conscious plus-size urban women shop at Ashley Stewart to find the latest fashions that reflects their inner confidence.

About TD Bank TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the United States, providing customers with a full range of financial products and services at more than 1,250 convenient locations from Maine to Florida. On September 30, 2010, The South Financial Group, Inc. was acquired by TD Bank Group, and its subsidiary Carolina First Bank merged with TD Bank. Carolina First Bank will continue to operate under the trade names Carolina First Bank in North and South Carolina and Mercantile Bank in Florida until conversion and rebranding in 2011. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Portland, Maine. Carolina First Bank and Mercantile Bank are trade names of TD Bank, N.A. For more information, visit www.tdbank.com. TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America and one of the few banks in the world rated Aaa by Moody's. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD." To learn more, visit www.td.com.

SOURCE Ashley Stewart