MPs have raised concerns that Asda’s ownership structure could be limiting the supermarket’s ability to support shoppers through the cost of living crisis.
In a letter to Mohsin Issa, one of the billionaire brothers who bought the supermarket with a private equity partner, TDR Capital, in 2020, Darren Jones, the chair of parliament’s business and trade select committee, has asked for details of the retailer’s corporate structure, capital investment and profit margins on petrol.
In the letter he also seeks details on loans from the Issas’ petrol forecourt operation, EG Group, which helped fund the buyout of Asda, the UK’s third-largest supermarket, and the purchase of two private jets for the brothers from Blackburn.
“The committee has concerns that the complex company structure within which Asda sits, and associated decisions on financing, may restrict your ability to help meet cost of living pressures on your customers,” Jones writes in the letter published on the committee’s website.
The letter comes after Asda was criticised by MPs for taking bigger profits from petrol after a competition watchdog found it had put the brakes on price cuts when wholesale oil prices fell.
There are fears that the structure of the Issa takeover, which doubled Asda’s debts and increased interest payments from £90m in 2021 to more than £400m this year, has restricted the chain’s ability to invest in low prices. With a burden now significantly more onerous than its two bigger competitors, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, the rate of inflation at the chain has been higher than the other traditional supermarkets, according to Which?
Asda says it has maintained its position as the cheapest of traditional supermarkets on groceries, so not including Aldi and Lidl, as shown from the weekly analysis by the Grocer trade journal. The business invested £40m to cut prices and keep them down for the rest of the year and £70m in the launch of its Just Essentials range of 269 budget items.
This summer the company also spent £35m on cutting the price of more than 600 products by an average of 11% and has continued to offer a “kids eat for £1” deal in its cafes.
An Asda spokesperson said: “Asda will continue to cooperate fully with the business and trade committee’s inquiry and will respond to its follow-up questions. Asda’s owners are committed to the long-term sustainable growth of the business and are investing in both supporting customers and colleagues during these challenging times.”
Asda has also begun publishing local petrol prices on its supermarkets’ homepages ahead of an industry-wide price-checker scheme which was due to be launched at the end of August.
MPs have asked Asda for details of its profit margins as it is seen as the price leader in the market with all other retailers following its prices closely. Its apparent decision to widen its margins to invest more in keeping grocery prices down is seen as prompting an industry-wide shift to higher pricing. Petrol has become a focal point for concerns about the cost of living as soaring inflation on food, energy and other essentials has squeezed household budgets.
The industry-wide scheme, which was set in motion by the CMA, was yet to be fully functioning on Friday. Fuel retailers including Shell, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and BP have all provided the required data but app developers from existing price comparison sites must now draw it into their systems so it is accessible for the general public.
Issa was called into parliament to answer questions on the supermarket’s tactics, where he caused more ire among MPs by repeatedly refusing to confirm whether Asda had increased its profit margins on fuel.
The Competition and Markets Authority told the business and trade committee there had been a “significant change” in the supermarket’s pricing approach after its £6.8bn takeover by the Issa brothers and their private equity partner was finalised in 2021.
