Why does no one want to buy Costa Coffee? Business The coffee’s gone cold and the milk has soured for the once dominant high street staple Costa, as owner Coca-Cola struggles to find a buyer to take the chain off its hands. The US beverage giant suspended talks with remaining bidders earlier this week, blaming the decision on low offers, bringing the months-long auction process [...]
Coca-Cola abandons Costa Coffee sale plans as Asda owner bids low Business US beverage giant Coca-Cola has reportedly scrapped plans to sell the world’s second-largest coffee chain after offers from private equity firms came in below expectations. The company brought talks with remaining bidders for Costa Coffee to a halt in December, ending an auction process which had lasted several months, according to the Financial Times. Sources [...]
Asda: Will 2026 be the year supermarket giant bounces back? Retail This time last year, analysts warned that Asda needed to “dig down into its soul” if it was to turn around its fortunes. After a rollercoaster 2024 in which it struggled with debt, strikes and falling sales, the Leeds-headquartered supermarket giant was hoping the new year would begin to reveal green shoots of recovery. Under [...]
Asda boss bashes Budget as sales continue to drop November 28, 2025 Asda boss Allen Leighton has hit out at the Autumn Budget as anti-growth and anti-investment as sales as the supermarket giant stumbled due to an IT handover. The executive chairman said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget “didn’t do anything for anybody” and that “there’s nothing the government is doing that is stimulating growth”. Speaking to City AM [...]
Asda billionaire quits role at Vinted rival November 25, 2025 Billionaire Mohsin Issa, who co-owns supermarket giant Asda, has stepped down as a director of a second-hand fashion startup he backed. The businessman is a major investor in online platform Loopi alongside Victoria Price through Boulder Investco – a fund which supports startups in the UK. Launched in the UK in January, Loopi was co-founded [...]
Asda: KKR and TDR commit £23m to credit card firm Jaja after warning November 11, 2025 The private equity backers of Jaja Finance have contributed another £23m in equity funding after the Asda credit card firm warned on its ability to continue as a going concern, City AM can reveal. A group of existing shareholders participated in the funding in October, Jaja said, and have also vowed to commit a further [...]
Issa brothers finally repay EG Group loan used to buy private jet October 14, 2025 The Issa brothers have finally repaid the huge loan they borrowed from their own forecourt and retail empire to buy a private jet, City AM can reveal. The billionaire duo had owed as much as $41m (£31m) to EG Group via an Isle of Man-based company they controlled called Clear Sky 2, which was used [...]
Asda credit card firm Jaja Finance warns of ‘material uncertainty’ over going concern status October 7, 2025 The firm behind the Asda credit card has warned of “material uncertainty” over its ability to continue as a going concern after reporting widening losses, City AM can reveal. Jaja Finance, a fintech co-owned by billionaire Mohsin Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital, said it had “substantially advanced” but not yet completed a new [...]
Profit spikes at Asda billionaire’s property empire September 29, 2025 Profit at the property empire co-founded by a billionaire backer of supermarket giant Asda spiked to a new record in 2024, it has been revealed. Monte Blackburn was set up by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa in 2016 and has a number of property interests across the North West of England. The billionaire brothers, who [...]
Losses almost tripled at Sale Sharks owner’s £1bn empire before takeover September 18, 2025 Losses at the empire built up by Simon Orange, the self-made millionaire who co-owns rugby union side Sale Sharks, almost tripled in the year before being taken over. Cheshire-based CorpAcq counts more than 40 businesses as part of its portfolio including the likes of Cotton Traders but does not include the Prem Rugby club. The [...]