Asda reportedly mulling 400 million pound sale of stores
British supermarket giant Asda is believed to be looking into selling 20 of its stores for around 400 million pounds in order to back its turnaround plan.
According to Green Street News, the retailer is said to be planning to offload the stores and lease them back for the next 20 years. The media outlet reported that Asda has enlisted property advisor Eastdil Secured to oversee the sale.
In a statement to Green Street, a spokesperson for Asda said: 'Sale-and-leasebacks have been a feature of the retail industry for many years.
'While maintaining a strong freehold base remains central to Asda's property strategy, we will consider suitable opportunities to unlock value from our property portfolio as part of our material programme of investment into the business.'
The move comes shortly after chairman Allan Leighton returned to Asda after a 20-year hiatus, bringing with him the mission of strengthening price position and establishing better customer perception of value.
It was around this time, November 2024, when Asda also made a series of redundancies, with approximately 475 staff believed to have been impacted by the cuts.
In the year December 31, 2024, the company had reported a revenue decline of 0.8 percent to 21.7 billion pounds, as increased competition resulted in market share loss.
FashionUnited has contacted Asda with its own request to comment.
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