Latest news with #ZuberIssa
Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Times
Zuber Issa plots shock swoop for $10bn Castrol oils
The British forecourts tycoon who led a successful swoop for Asda is plotting an audacious multibillion-pound assault on Castrol oils. Zuber Issa, one half of the billionaire brothers from Blackburn who acquired Asda for £6.8 billion in 2020 with the backing of private equity firm TDR Capital, is understood to have set his sights on BP-owned Castrol after selling his stake in the supermarket last year. He is exploring plans to lead a consortium to acquire Castrol, which BP has put on the market for up to $10 billion (£7.5 billion), according to sources familiar with the situation. After seeing off Apollo Global Management and Lone Star Funds in the battle for Asda, Issa's latest move could once again pit him against a clutch of deep-pocketed private equity investors, and lead to him squaring off against the likes of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil company.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Asda boss insists supermarket turnaround is on despite sales falling 3.1% and sends appeal to Sun readers
The chairman has reintroduced Asda prices on 10,000 products and his discounting effectively started a fresh price war IT ASDA GET BETTER IT ASDA GET BETTER Asda boss insists supermarket turnaround is on despite sales falling 3.1% and sends appeal to Sun readers ASDA sales fell 3.1 per cent in the four months to the end of April — but its chairman insists the turnaround is on. And Allan Leighton urged Sun readers to come back to see the UK's third largest grocery chain's revitalised stores. Advertisement 4 Asda sales fell 3.1 per cent in the four months to the end of April, pictured boss Allan Leighton Credit: Asda 4 Supermarket figures released earlier this week showed Asda's share of the grocery industry has shrunk to 12.1 per cent He told The Sun: 'We've lowered prices and improved availability of products. 'We've got a long way to go to be back to where we were, but we're getting there.' The veteran boss, now 72, returned to Asda six months ago to try to turn around the business. It has struggled since a £6.8billion buyout by Blackburn brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital in 2021. Advertisement TDR bought out Zuber Issa's stake last June. Leighton was last chief exec of the chain in 2000, but left to become chairman of Royal Mail and later the Co-op. Since returning, he has reintroduced Asda prices on 10,000 products and his discounting effectively started a fresh price war. His aim, he said, is to offer goods at around 7 per cent lower than rivals, but said Asda has so far hit only the 3 per cent mark. Advertisement His other main focus has been on improving availability of products, making sure the goods people want are on the shelves. Availability was less than 90 per cent when he returned last November. Sainsbury's scraps in-store changing rooms leaving shoppers furious But his changes have now improved that to 96 per cent. Mr Leighton admitted: 'We've started our work by looking after our existing customers. They lost trust because pricing was poor and availability was poor.' Advertisement Now he wants to start attracting new shoppers and those who switched to another supermarket. His message to Sun readers is: 'If you've not been with us for a while, come have another look.' He said despite his age he is rolling up his sleeves to get the job done and reckons it will take between three and five years. Once he is happy with the turnaround, he said the chain will look for a new chief executive. Advertisement In positive news, sales of the group's George clothing ranges were up 3.5 per cent in established stores. Petrol forecourt and convenience store sales were also up after fuel prices fell. Supermarket figures released earlier this week showed Asda's share of the grocery industry has shrunk to 12.1 per cent. The figure is the lowest since analysts Kantar started collecting data in 2011. Advertisement German discount chain Aldi, in fourth with an 11.1 per cent share, is now breathing down its neck — putting Asda's position as the UK's number three under pressure. New car sales go up a gear NEW car sales in the UK grew three per cent last year, according to figures from Auto Trader. The expansion was driven by sales of company or 'fleet' vehicles. 4 New car sales in the UK grew three per cent last year Credit: Getty Advertisement But sales to consumers fell four per cent over the year. And the number of vehicles manufactured in the UK fell last month to the lowest April figure for more than 70 years. Factories hit by trade tariffs and the timing of Easter turned out just 59,203 vehicles in the month. But UK new car sales could be boosted by the international trade war, reckons Auto Trader boss Nathan Coe. Advertisement He said Britain could benefit if higher import duties mean it becomes cheaper for global manufacturers to export vehicles to the UK. He said: 'If it's more expensive to export cars to other countries, it could well be the UK is a place where we find a few more new cars coming this way.' £25billion megapot THE Chancellor has revealed plans to create £25billion pension 'megafunds' which will have to invest in the UK to help fuel economic growth. An industry overhaul will let pension funds consolidate with others. Successful schemes in Australia and Canada see funds invested in infrastructure projects and big business. Rachel Reeves said it would boost people's pension pots with greater investment in clean energy and UK high-growth businesses. Named and shamed on wage PIZZA EXPRESS, Lidl, British Airways and Capita are among firms named and shamed for failing to pay some of their staff the minimum wage. They were on a Government list of 518 employers and businesses found to have underpaid workers over several years. Advertisement 4 British Airways was among firms named and shamed for failing to pay some of their staff the minimum wage Credit: Getty Pay for nearly 60,000 fell short of the national minimum wage, or national living wage, according to the Department for Business and Trade. At outsourcing company Capita, 5,543 workers were underpaid about £208 each on average. It said there were 'inadvertent underpayments' between 2015 and 2021 but it had repaid the money to staff. Advertisement Pizza Express failed to pay about £90 on average to 8,470 workers. The chain said it was a 'historic unintentional technicality, which occurred between 2012 and 2018', and it was quickly rectified. British Airways failed to pay an average of £107 to 2,165 workers. It said it accidentally 'slightly underpaid' some of its cabin crew who joined between 2014 and 2017, but had made backdated payments to those affected. Advertisement Society's 30% leap NATIONWIDE Building Society said profits leapt 30 per cent to £2.3billion in the year to the end of March, during which time it completed the takeover of Virgin Money. The mutual group said it paid out a record £1billion to members in rewards during the year, with more than four million customers handed £100. Nationwide's £2.9billion takeover of Virgin Money made it the UK's second largest mortgages and savings provider. It said integration of the acquisition was 'progressing well' but boss Debbie Crosbie added: 'It's too early to say if there'll be an impact on the workforce.' O'Leary's £84million RYANAIR chief Michael O'Leary is in line for a bonus worth more than £84million after shares in the budget airline hit a value target. Shares closed yesterday above 21 euros for a 28th consecutive day, meeting a goal set in 2019. Mr O'Leary said earlier this month: 'I think we're delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when Premiership footballers and managers get paid 20 to 25million a year.' To take advantage of the share deal, O'Leary, 64, needs to stay at Ryanair until 2028. Advertisement Chip off the AI block AI chip-maker Nvidia's sales almost doubled in a year, climbing from £16.4billion to £32.7billion. It is the second most valuable listed company in the world, behind Microsoft, but share prices slumped last month owing to Trump's trade war. Ten-pin boiling HOLLYWOOD BOWL has blamed the warm weather for a fall in bookings this spring. The ten-pin bowling chain said it took a short-term hit from March to May — the sunniest spring on record. Its pay bill also bounced up £2.6million to £24.9million following April's minimum wage increases. Profits fell by 9.4 per cent to £28million in the past six months but revenues still rose slightly, as customers spent more per game. Advertisement Boss Stephen Burns said: 'We're well positioned for the key summer holiday period.'
The Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Asda boss insists supermarket turnaround is on despite sales falling 3.1% and sends appeal to Sun readers
ASDA sales fell 3.1 per cent in the four months to the end of April — but its chairman insists the turnaround is on. And Allan Leighton urged Sun readers to come back to see the UK's third largest grocery chain's revitalised stores. 4 4 He told The Sun: 'We've lowered prices and improved availability of products. 'We've got a long way to go to be back to where we were, but we're getting there.' The veteran boss, now 72, returned to Asda six months ago to try to turn around the business. It has struggled since a £6.8billion buyout by Blackburn brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital in 2021. TDR bought out Zuber Issa's stake last June. Leighton was last chief exec of the chain in 2000, but left to become chairman of Royal Mail and later the Co-op. Since returning, he has reintroduced Asda prices on 10,000 products and his discounting effectively started a fresh price war. His aim, he said, is to offer goods at around 7 per cent lower than rivals, but said Asda has so far hit only the 3 per cent mark. His other main focus has been on improving availability of products, making sure the goods people want are on the shelves. Availability was less than 90 per cent when he returned last November. Sainsbury's scraps in-store changing rooms leaving shoppers furious But his changes have now improved that to 96 per cent. Mr Leighton admitted: 'We've started our work by looking after our existing customers. They lost trust because pricing was poor and availability was poor.' Now he wants to start attracting new shoppers and those who switched to another supermarket. His message to Sun readers is: 'If you've not been with us for a while, come have another look.' He said despite his age he is rolling up his sleeves to get the job done and reckons it will take between three and five years. Once he is happy with the turnaround, he said the chain will look for a new chief executive. In positive news, sales of the group's George clothing ranges were up 3.5 per cent in established stores. Petrol forecourt and convenience store sales were also up after fuel prices fell. Supermarket figures released earlier this week showed Asda's share of the grocery industry has shrunk to 12.1 per cent. The figure is the lowest since analysts Kantar started collecting data in 2011. German discount chain Aldi, in fourth with an 11.1 per cent share, is now breathing down its neck — putting Asda's position as the UK's number three under pressure. New car sales go up a gear NEW car sales in the UK grew three per cent last year, according to figures from Auto Trader. The expansion was driven by sales of company or 'fleet' vehicles. 4 But sales to consumers fell four per cent over the year. And the number of vehicles manufactured in the UK fell last month to the lowest April figure for more than 70 years. Factories hit by trade tariffs and the timing of Easter turned out just 59,203 vehicles in the month. But UK new car sales could be boosted by the international trade war, reckons Auto Trader boss Nathan Coe. He said Britain could benefit if higher import duties mean it becomes cheaper for global manufacturers to export vehicles to the UK. He said: 'If it's more expensive to export cars to other countries, it could well be the UK is a place where we find a few more new cars coming this way.' £25billion megapot THE Chancellor has revealed plans to create £25billion pension 'megafunds' which will have to invest in the UK to help fuel economic growth. An industry overhaul will let pension funds consolidate with others. Successful schemes in Australia and Canada see funds invested in infrastructure projects and big business. Rachel Reeves said it would boost people's pension pots with greater investment in clean energy and UK high-growth businesses. Named and shamed on wage PIZZA EXPRESS, Lidl, British Airways and Capita are among firms named and shamed for failing to pay some of their staff the minimum wage. They were on a Government list of 518 employers and businesses found to have underpaid workers over several years. 4 Pay for nearly 60,000 fell short of the national minimum wage, or national living wage, according to the Department for Business and Trade. At outsourcing company Capita, 5,543 workers were underpaid about £208 each on average. It said there were 'inadvertent underpayments' between 2015 and 2021 but it had repaid the money to staff. Pizza Express failed to pay about £90 on average to 8,470 workers. The chain said it was a 'historic unintentional technicality, which occurred between 2012 and 2018', and it was quickly rectified. British Airways failed to pay an average of £107 to 2,165 workers. It said it accidentally 'slightly underpaid' some of its cabin crew who joined between 2014 and 2017, but had made backdated payments to those affected. Society's 30% leap NATIONWIDE Building Society said profits leapt 30 per cent to £2.3billion in the year to the end of March, during which time it completed the takeover of Virgin Money. The mutual group said it paid out a record £1billion to members in rewards during the year, with more than four million customers handed £100. Nationwide's £2.9billion takeover of Virgin Money made it the UK's second largest mortgages and savings provider. It said integration of the acquisition was 'progressing well' but boss Debbie Crosbie added: 'It's too early to say if there'll be an impact on the workforce.' O'Leary's £84million RYANAIR chief Michael O'Leary is in line for a bonus worth more than £84million after shares in the budget airline hit a value target. Shares closed yesterday above 21 euros for a 28th consecutive day, meeting a goal set in 2019. Mr O'Leary said earlier this month: 'I think we're delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when Premiership footballers and managers get paid 20 to 25million a year.' To take advantage of the share deal, O'Leary, 64, needs to stay at Ryanair until 2028. Ten-pin boiling HOLLYWOOD BOWL has blamed the warm weather for a fall in bookings this spring. The ten-pin bowling chain said it took a short-term hit from March to May — the sunniest spring on record. Its pay bill also bounced up £2.6million to £24.9million following April's minimum wage increases. Profits fell by 9.4 per cent to £28million in the past six months but revenues still rose slightly, as customers spent more per game. Boss Stephen Burns said: 'We're well positioned for the key summer holiday period.'
Sky News
18-03-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Supermarket price war could bring consumers some relief but only because the government is pushing up costs
The air is suddenly full of talk about supermarket price wars. Some £4.4bn was wiped from the stock market valuations of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer on Monday following comments from Allan Leighton, the executive chairman of Asda, on Friday in which he promised the grocer was planning its biggest price cuts in 25 years. Mr Leighton, who returned to Asda last November, said there was a "war chest" available to Asda and indicated he was prepared to "materially" forego profits in the short term to win back market share. He told The Times: "We have a long way to go. We're three months into what is going to be three years of really getting the basics of the business right and getting the business to outperform the rest of the industry on a like-for-like basis. "That's what restores our market share and profitability. It ain't going to happen overnight." Those remarks are rightly being taken seriously by investors - by the market close on Monday Tesco shares had fallen by nearly 15% since Friday morning and those of Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's by 10% and 9% apiece. That is because nobody, arguably, knows Asda better than Mr Leighton. What's gone wrong at Asda? It was he, along with current Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman, who rescued Asda from collapse in the early 1990s before selling the business to US giant Walmart in 1999. Initially, that transaction appeared to go well, with Asda wresting the number two slot in the UK grocery market from Sainsbury's in 2003. But Walmart's insistence on preserving margins gradually saw its share eroded and the number two slot recaptured by Sainsbury's. By 2019, it was clear Asda was no longer regarded as a core asset by Walmart. That was the year an attempt was made, blocked by competition regulators, to merge the business with Sainsbury's. Worse was to follow. In October 2020, Walmart offloaded a majority stake in the grocer to the petrol forecourts billionaires Mohsin and Zuber Issa and the private equity firm TDR Capital. The debt taken on during the takeover blunted Asda's competitiveness and resulted in it losing market share - mainly to Tesco and Sainsbury's but also to the German hard discounters Aldi and Lidl. It went through a series of managers before TDR Capital bought out Zuber Issa in June last year to take a majority 67.5% stake while Mohsin Issa, who retains 22.5% of the business, relinquished the day-to-day running of the business. A new era Cue the return of Mr Leighton. Within weeks, after Asda was the worst-performing supermarket over the Christmas period, he had announced a 'Big Jan Price Drop' price-cutting campaign which saw average price reductions of 26% on selected products. That was dismissed by rivals, most notably Ken Murphy, the chief executive of market leader Tesco, as not representing a genuine price war. Mr Leighton's response has been to reintroduce the 'Rollback' price-cutting promotions he and Mr Norman introduced in the 1990s in a bid to revive the spirit of the old 'That's Asda Price' campaigns, complete with shoppers patting their back pockets, backed by heavy newspaper and television advertising. It is being seen by industry experts as a wider price-cutting initiative than the more limited campaign Asda had been running to 'price match' Aldi and Lidl. While the price cuts are the most eye-catching initiatives, so far as consumers will be concerned, Mr Leighton has also spent £43m on extending opening hours for some stores and has also bolstered his management team. The most important hire was David Lepley, the group retail director at Morrisons, who was appointed in February as chief supply chain officer - a recognition that Asda needed to sharpen up on its product availability. Can the new boss work his magic again? The big question many in the industry have is whether Mr Leighton - who has since leaving Asda in 2000 had a spell as chairman of the Co-op - can work his magic again. The grocery market now is very different from the one in the 1990s when Tesco was only in the foothills of the explosive growth it was later to enjoy, first under Lord MacLaurin and then under Sir Terry Leahy, while Sainsbury's was going through a fallow period. Morrisons, which acquired the old Safeway chain in 2004, was also a much smaller business than it is today. Moreover, in the 1990s, the hard discounters Aldi and Lidl - who entered the UK in 1990 and 1994 respectively - had a miniscule market presence. Hard discounting in grocery retail was also less developed than today with the old Kwik-Save chain its leading exponent. In other words, the climate was ripe for a player like Asda to seize share with big, well-targeted price cuts, snappy advertising and, crucially, excellent product availability. Compare that with today. A different time Tesco's market position is as dominant as it has ever been while Sainsbury's is a strongly entrenched number two in the market and a revived Morrisons, under Rami Baitiéh, has also returned to growth. Aldi and Lidl, although the former has recently seen its market share slipping, also remain formidable competitors. Tesco and Sainsbury's, who have benefited more than anyone from Asda's travails, have the most to lose in the event of a turnaround. But they are also better placed than anyone else to withstand one: Tesco's Clubcard is arguably the world's most successful supermarket loyalty and rewards scheme and provides the grocer with data and insights that no one else has, enabling it to react rapidly to changes in the market or to shopper habits. Sainsbury's is trying to do something similar with Nectar, while both schemes are increasingly able to personalise offers to individual customers, entrenching loyalty. That may become even more important if, as Simon Roberts, Sainsbury's chief executive, asserts, the 'big weekly shop' is becoming more important as working from home becomes less common. Tesco and Sainsbury's sharper than they used to be As the renowned sector watcher Clive Black, analyst at investment bank Shore Capital puts it: "We need to remember that the listed players are better grocers than Asda with a broader customer set, stronger balance sheets and a will to remain competitive". He points out that, apart from the advantages bestowed by their loyalty programmes, Tesco and Sainsbury's are sharper on price than they used to be, are able to price-match Aldi meaningfully and offer better ranges and more choice than both the German pair and Asda. That view is shared by the retail team at brokerage Jefferies which has questioned whether Asda's price cuts can deliver the increase in grocery volumes in the time it requires without a fresh injection of capital from shareholders. What about consumers? Will this be good news for consumers? Possibly. But the grocery sector will be hit hard by the forthcoming increase in the national living wage and, more especially, the rise in employer's national insurance contributions announced by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, in her autumn budget. Those measures will not only push up the costs of supermarkets but also those of their suppliers. Those higher costs will at least be partly passed on to customers. So too will be the cost of implementing new recycling regulations due in October. And, all the while, food price inflation is picking up in staples such as eggs, milk and butter. The British Retail Consortium is expecting food price inflation to be north of 4% during the second half of this year. Accordingly, while Asda's price war may bring some relief, it feels more likely at present as if it will merely result in lower price rises than British shoppers would otherwise have experienced rather than an outright drop in prices across the board.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Issa brothers suffer backlash over plans for UK's biggest Muslim cemetery
The billionaire Issa brothers have suffered a local backlash over plans to build Britain's biggest Muslim cemetery, with residents claiming the proposals will ruin the landscape. More than 1,000 residents have lodged objections to the brothers' proposed graveyard, a local Tory councillor has claimed, with many concerned over the impact on local green belt land. Mohsin and Zuber Issa are seeking to install 13,500 burial plots across 18.5 hectares in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire – a town that has a population of just 10,815. New documents submitted by campaigners claim the cemetery, which will contain a funeral parlour and prayer halls, is 'unacceptable' because it will ruin the landscape and increase the risk of flooding. They are urging the local council to reject the plan, which is being bankrolled by the brothers' charity, the Issa Foundation. Zak Khan, a Conservative councillor working with the Say No To The Cemetery campaign group, accused the Issa brothers of trying to 'build their empire at the expense of ordinary people'. He said: 'More than 1,000 objections have gone in from residents and they are still coming in thick and fast. 'The cemetery is not suitable and is creating community division. They are burning their legacy by trying to build over local communities that want to retain their identity.' Concerns have also been raised over the 400-space car park that will accompany the site, which campaigners claim would increase road traffic and have a 'severe negative impact on the visual character of the green belt'. The proposed cemetery marks the brothers' latest attempt to increase their influence in Lancashire, where they are also building a mosque with 95ft-high minarets and a £3m dental surgery. It also marks a revival of the project after the brothers previously withdrew an application to build an 85-acre cemetery on the same site. Mr Khan added: 'It's one of the last bits of green space, and the Issa brothers have already built massive units nearby. Why do they keep battering this community? There are plenty of other opportunities to build this thing elsewhere. 'They are not listening. They are making out it if it's as if it's what people want and that's wrong. Why build something in an area that's generating such opposition? 'They are trying to build their empire at the expense of ordinary people.' Originally from Blackburn, the brothers have amassed a multibillion-pound fortune over the past two decades. Much of this stems from a petrol forecourts empire they launched from a site in Bury in 2001, subsequently relying on cheap debt to snap up thousands of sites around the world. The brothers went on to lead the £6.8bn debt-fuelled takeover of Asda alongside private equity firm TDR Capital in 2021. However, ownership of the supermarket sparked problems for the brothers, who have repeatedly been forced to deny rumours of a rift. Criticism of Asda's performance led to Zuber Issa selling his stake in Asda last year. He has since launched a new petrol forecourts business without his brother. Meanwhile, Mohsin Issa remains a minority shareholder in Asda, although he stepped down from running the company's day-to-day operations last year. Irfan Ali, at the Issa Foundation, said: 'Our charity, the Issa Foundation, is committed to supporting the communities we serve, and we are proud to be part of the development of a cemetery in Accrington – a vital community asset that meets an essential need and significantly enhances the current space.'We continue to listen, and respect and value the feedback received from all stakeholders throughout this process. In line with our commitment to transparency and thoroughness, professional advisers have carefully undertaken the necessary development considerations. 'Also, based on our public consultation early this year, we have significantly reduced the scheme to reflect the concerns of residents. The proposed cemetery design and development, along with the necessary reports, have been incorporated into a revised planning application and submitted for council review and approval.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
