[ad_1]
Sainsbury’s has become the third major UK supermarket chain to announce that it will reimburse most of the commercial fee relief it accepted from the government during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company said it would reimburse 440 million pounds of the 490 million it was eligible for after the chancellor announced a 12-month business holiday in March. This means that three of Britain’s largest supermarkets are reimbursing almost £ 1.3bn, after Tesco was the first to announce the decision on Wednesday, closely followed by Morrisons.
While other retailers and hospitality companies have struggled with lockdowns and other coronavirus restrictions, supermarkets have stayed open throughout the process and have enjoyed increased sales during the pandemic, albeit at higher costs.
Sainsbury’s said it would keep the remaining £ 50 million of financial support it received for its Argos stores that were forced to close during the closings.
The latest announcement comes after Tesco said on Wednesday it would return financial support to the government and repay £ 585 million. Tesco was closely followed by Morrisons, who will pay £ 274 million.
Supermarkets have been under pressure to reimburse the government, after grocery sales surged during the pandemic, while other non-essential retailers were forced to close and businesses in other affected sectors, such as entertainment and hospitality, were seen. pushed to the edge. Supermarkets also caused controversy by paying large dividends to shareholders. Sainsbury’s defended its decision last month to pay £ 230 million in dividends, while Tesco pays £ 315 million.
Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s, said: “While we have incurred significant costs to keep colleagues and customers safe, food retailers and other essential retailers have benefited from being able to open everywhere.
“With regional restrictions likely to remain in place for some time, we believe that it is now fair and correct to waive the commercial rate relief that has been granted to us at all Sainsbury’s stores. We are well aware that non-essential retailers and many other companies have been forced to close again in the second lockdown and we hope this will help them in some way. “
Sainsbury’s sales and earnings have been stronger than expected, particularly since the start of the second lockdown in England in November.
Sign up for the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk
Including commercial fee payments, the company now expects to make an underlying pre-tax profit of at least £ 270 million for the year to March 2021, rising to more than £ 586 million the following year. This compares with a profit of £ 586 million in the year to March 2020.
In all, the six big supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl – were in line to receive £ 1.9 billion in aid payments during the current fiscal year, according to figures from Altus Group, a property consultant. . Including convenience stores and grocery stores, the food sector was in line at £ 3.03 billion, Altus estimates.
Sainsbury’s said it had hired 56,000 people, paid 13,000 employees to isolate themselves and made nearly 9 million grocery deliveries to elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers during the pandemic. He has not received any license fees or other financial support from the government.
