Kroger's commitment involves building up to 20 warehouses in three years, compared with just one each in the other deals. Financing all that would be a stretch for Ocado, which last year covered just two-thirds of its investment needs with operating cash flow. Hence Kroger is offering to buy 183 million pounds worth of new Ocado shares and pay exclusivity and consultancy fees early, reducing the UK group's capital-spending burden. Add this to a 143 million pound February share placement, and Ocado has raised 326 million pounds of capital, enough to build more than 10 warehouses using a benchmark of 30 million pounds per site. Larger partner Kroger's balance sheet could help build the other half.