The Lancashire based billionaire Issa brothers who own the petrol station ‘European Garages’ (EG) Group and private equity firm TDR Capital have secured the £6.8 billion majority stake in major UK retailer ASDA.
The original proposal in 2019 for ASDA to merge with Sainsbury’s was kicked into the long grass by the UK’s competition regulator due to competition rules and the potential for prices to rise and product quality to decline.
Figures from Kantar Worldpanel show that during the 12 weeks ending 4th October 2020, ASDA held 14.4% of the UK grocery market share behind Tesco (26.9%) and Sainsbury’s (14.9%). Despite tough economic challenges for both businesses and consumers on the horizon and the remaining possibility of a no-deal Brexit, the new owners have committed to keeping prices low for consumers.
Nevertheless, more than £1 billion will be invested into the supermarket supply chain over the next three years including a commitment towards 100% british dairy, potatoes and fresh beef, posing as a ‘significant’ increase in demand from UK beef producers.