// GMB union said Asda owners are stripping assets following plans to sell off their logistics portfolio
// The Issa brothers, who own petrol empire EG Group, recently drafted in advisers to prepare for the sale of up to 25 distribution centres
Asda owners Mohsin and Zuber Issa have been attacked by the GMB union over their plans to offload the grocer’s logistics portfolio.
The union for Asda workers has said that the company’s “sale and leaseback” plans amount to asset stripping.
The Issa brothers, who own petrol empire EG Group, recently drafted in advisers to prepare for the sale of up to 25 distribution centres, including Heston, Dartford, Bristol, Washington, Wakefield, Didcot and Lutterworth.
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The company’s logistics portfolio is likely to include around seven million sq ft of assets, drawing in more than £1 billion.
“This plan is nothing more than asset stripping,” GMB national officer Roger Jenkins said.
“Private equity sharks are shaping up to extract as much profit out of the business as they can up front – before they’ve even got their feet under the table.
“Telling our members this plan ‘will have no implications on colleagues’ is a fantasy designed to try and alleviate the deep anxiety this announcement is bound to cause.
“The Issa Brothers need to stop and think about the proud history and heritage of the profit-making supermarket they are seeking to acquire.”
The Asda deal has still to be approved by the regulatory authorities.
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