Issa brothers finally repay EG Group loan used to buy private jet Business 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 Fintech 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 Property 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 [...]
Asda-owned Leon cuts hundreds of jobs as work from home trend bites September 17, 2025 Leon has axed hundreds of jobs as it bemoaned a “challenging” year in which it wrestled with high cost inflation and depressed customer spending. The Asda-owned fast-food chain cut its headcount by 17 per cent, or 224, to 1,120 over the course of 2024, its latest accounts show, as it sought to bear down on [...]
City veteran Lord Rose: UK is ‘at the edge of a crisis’ September 9, 2025 Lord Stuart Rose has launched a scathing attack on the government’s economic strategy, claiming the UK is “at the edge of a crisis.” The City veteran told Times Radio: “I think we should all be worried about the state of Britain today. “Now, I am absolutely an optimist in my life. I’ve been working for [...]
Local shops axe jobs and cut investment amid surging costs September 1, 2025 UK convenience stores have cuts 2,000 jobs over an “extremely challenging year” after coming under pressure from soaring labour costs and fierce competition from supermarkets. The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) warned that pessimistic consumers and increased costs for retailers are therefore putting the UK’s 50,000 local shops under pressure, resulting in weaker investment and [...]
Asda boss slams tax hikes: ‘Businesses have to be allowed to invest’ August 28, 2025 Asda chair Allan Leighton has warned that the Government must change the way it thinks about growth or risk a stagnating economy. Ahead of Asda’s quarterly results – where the grocer reported its fourth consecutive quarter of improving like-for-like sales – Leighton said that the company has a “simple philosophy… if you want growth, you [...]
Asda faces another hefty fine for selling expired food in stores July 16, 2025 Supermarket giant Asda has been given a huge fine for selling expired food in two stores, its second such fine in three months. Repeated checks by Trading Standards officers discovered expired items contrary to food safety codes at its Leckwith and Pentwyn branches in Cardiff. The TDR-owned grocer was then fined £640,000 for selling 115 [...]
Asda loses £600m amid major turnaround plan June 25, 2025 Asda slumped back into the red after losing almost £600m in 2024 despite its total sales rising by more than £1bn, it has been revealed. The Leeds-headquartered supermarket giant has posted a pre-tax loss of £599m for its latest financial year, having reported a pre-tax profit of £180.3m for 2023. The profit in 2023 came [...]
Sunny spring boosts grocers as Brits buy 2,400 packs of strawberries every minute June 24, 2025 The UK’s unusual burst of sun boosted purchases of fruit and ice lollies this spring, although food inflation continued to soar at the UK’s grocers. Higher prices for fresh meats, chocolate and butters drove food inflation to 4.7 per cent, its highest level since February 2024, according to data insights group Kantar. But Fraser McKevitt, [...]