Tesco: to repay UK business rates relief
(CercleFinance.com) - British retailer Tesco said on Wednesday that it has decided to repay the 585 million pounds it received in business rates relief as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company commented that its business has proven "resilient" over the crisis and that it is "financially strong enough" to repay the funds to the UK government and administration.
"We firmly believe now that this is the right thing to do," said chairman John Allan, noting that the board has agreed unanimously that the rates relief should be repaid to the public.
In October Tesco estimated that the Covid pandemic would cost about 725 million pounds this year - well in excess of the 585 million pounds of rates relief it has received.
The London-listed Tesco shares were down over 1% after this announcement.
"We do not expect the decision to impact Tesco directly from a valuation point of view but it may reflect well from the standpoints of governance and societal stakeholder management," analysts at UBS commented.
Copyright (c) 2020 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
The company commented that its business has proven "resilient" over the crisis and that it is "financially strong enough" to repay the funds to the UK government and administration.
"We firmly believe now that this is the right thing to do," said chairman John Allan, noting that the board has agreed unanimously that the rates relief should be repaid to the public.
In October Tesco estimated that the Covid pandemic would cost about 725 million pounds this year - well in excess of the 585 million pounds of rates relief it has received.
The London-listed Tesco shares were down over 1% after this announcement.
"We do not expect the decision to impact Tesco directly from a valuation point of view but it may reflect well from the standpoints of governance and societal stakeholder management," analysts at UBS commented.
Copyright (c) 2020 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.