// Asda’s new owners Issa brothers and TDR are considering spinning off fashion label George as they plan to cut costs
// Selling the brand could reduce group debt
// The billionaire owners of Asda are trying to add Caffè Nero to their estate
Asda’s new owners Issa brothers and TDR are reportedly considering spinning off the grocer’s fashion label George, as they plan to cut costs and spending.
The Issa brothers and TDR would be more comfortable licensing the brand or introducing more fashion partnerships to Asda’s shops to use excess space.
Selling the brand could reduce group debt, The Times reported.
READ MORE:
- Issa brothers complete £6.8bn acquisition of Asda from Walmart
- Asda owners to fund legal challenge against Caffè Nero
The billionaire owners of Asda are already trying to add Caffè Nero to their estate by buying part of its £350 million debt pile.
Brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa have approached lenders to the coffee chain seeking to build a position that would allow them to bid for control in a debt-for-equity swap if Caffè Nero was forced to restructure its borrowings.
The brothers’ interest in Caffè Nero, which has 800 sites and employs 6000 staff in the UK, emerged in December when they offered to buy the chain from its founder and main shareholder, Gerry Ford.
The brothers, who are co-chief executives of global convenience and forecourts retailer EG Group, acquired a majority ownership stake in Asda earlier this month.
Asda’s former owner Walmart is retaining a stake and is going ahead with a partnership strategy, introducing Accessorize, Claire’s Accessories and MusicMagpie to its larger stores.
More Asda convenience stores on EG petrol forecourts are expected after the opening of three last year.
The owners have promised to invest £1 billion over the next three years.
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30 Comments. Leave new
Monopolies commission should stop this takeover
Not a good idea George is huge at asda so much better than other stores clothing range a big mistake to loose it
Typical buy out of greed then sell off what people want.., serve them right if they go under.
I worked for Asda in the George department, and we were always busy with customers. George offers good quality goods and lower prices. Christmas was always busy. Would be sadly missed.
Just look how debenhams went to the wall. They were taken over and laiden with debt they could not service. The brothers will outsouce the profitable parts, strip Asda’s of it assets. Why touch what don’t need fixing. Why burden Asda’s with debt
That’s the problem with the British High Streets, originally companies have been bought out by investment companies or High risk take overs, the company then has no capital to support itself in market trends go up and down
these two taking over is a bad idea they will get rid off Asda George then there will be a lot of job loses and depts shut down
That is the end of ASDA. The company had no debts of it’s own but soon will have after them wankers strip everything out of it. If they couldn’t afford it without getting into debt then they should of left it alone. Just proves they are only buying up companies to strip everything they can out it it for their own greed.
That will be more job loses then, I can imagine they will then sell off petrol stations and then axe staff and make them fully automated. It is also ridiculous that ASDA Kingswood is not limiting numbers in store it becomes crowded and you can’t distance in store as a colleague like myself or as a customer my family refuse to shop there. 1,000 plus in store at the same time, COVID MRshals are not new staff just current ones and wipe trolleys and baskets but can’t limit numbers they are told. If ALDI and TESCO can have limits and a traffic light system on the door so can ASDA all they care about is profit, how the health and safety executive HSE people let them get away with it is wrong, I’ve complained to councillors, local MPs, ASDA and others and nothing changes. Yet teachers say we are not safe, no us shop workers are at far more risk.
By any chance is your real name Tim lol
That would be a very bad move there clothing is great quality and great prices. I dont buy anywhere else especially for kids clothes.
Reading (or trying to read) some of these comments I thought I had inadvertently clicked on to the Sun website. If you can’t understand an article or punctuate a sentence it is probably better to keep your thoughts to yourself.
no way george at asda clothes are fab 1 of the only places i can get size 22 at fab price.bad idea
Love george clothing. Children’s clothes are brilliant.
My wife’s first stop in store. Not so sure she’d use the store if George was to go.
You’s can’t do that as I get a lot from George at Asda
As a george colleague myself I think its a bad move as it’s always busy making them money and its not fair on the colleagues who have been working there for years now its been taken over shouldn’t mean people will lose their jobs specially at this time too when there’s hardly any jobs out there, think they should be more considerarte towards the colleagues and company don’t sell its assets for your own convenience its a good supermarket and without George it won’t be the same
The begging of the end of Asda. Asda had no debt before these guys bought it and are slowly but surely selling assets off to pay for the purchase. A real shame!
Get rid of George and say bye bye to a tonne of customers! I shop at Asda for the clothes more than the groceries!
If this is true its a big mistake. I know lots that shop here for their true to size, quality along with a good price. I shop there for myself and my grandchildren comfortable and practical clothes.
Big mistake to sell off George. I buy my clothes from them and would stop using Asda if they do sell it off. That’s the thing that brings a lot of customers in.
George is a great brand well made and good value for the money
Same as all Supermarkets, Asda owners only care about profit and not the customers shopping experience. I work at tesco FF and know that shoppers love the opportunity to buy clothes while doing their food shop. Shortsighted!
Love the George clothes range at Asda, why oh why, nothing stays the same, such a pity.
Well the commission is still looking at this they stopped sainsburys now let’s see which way they go with this and they had better be careful after all they said befor
As ideas go… this is a bad one.
As a colleague as soon as I heard that they are in partnership with TDR, said straight away they would be asset stripping. The distribution centres assets worth £1.5 billion. To complete takeover bought junk shares which means Asda will have for the first time in a long time debt if £3.5 billion. They want to off load George to save money, because we’re all getting a pay rise of 16 pence per hour and they have to find the money from somewhere. How long will Asda trade for before they decide to sell, because they have made a decent profit for themselves and Walmart . It’s us the colleagues that again will get shafted to loose or be made redundant..
Knew this was going to be bad news when they were going to take over. More bad things to come
I like to give people a chance but the more I read about them two words come to mind – asset strippers.
Would be a travesty I love George clothes for my grandchildren