Tesco sells loss-making Fresh & Easy chain
Supermarket giant Tesco has agreed to sell 150 of its Fresh & Easy stores in the US to investment firm Yucaipa Companies.
Tesco announced earlier this year that it planned to offload the loss-making business.
Under the deal with Yucaipa, Tesco will sell more than 150 stores as well as Fresh & Easy’s Riverside distribution production facilities. More than 4,000 Fresh & Easy employees will transfer to the new business.
Those stores not included in the transaction will be closed over the coming weeks.
Tesco will incur costs of up to £150 million from the sale including an £80 million loan to Yucaipa which will be secured against the Riverside Campus facility.
Philip Clarke, Tesco chief executive, said: “The decision we are announcing today represents the best outcome for Tesco shareholders and Fresh & Easy’s stakeholders. It offers us an orderly and efficient exit from the US market, while protecting the jobs of more than 4,000 colleagues at Fresh & Easy.”
