UK’s biggest pub firm probed over treatment of tenants Hospitality The UK’s biggest pub landlord is being probed by the industry watchdog over concerns that it is mistreating its tenants. Stonegate, whose 4,500 UK sites include the Cannick Taps on Cannon Street and the Cheshire Cheese on Tower Hill, is facing an investigation from the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA). The watchdog said it had “reasonable [...]
David Lloyd gyms limbers up for £4bn London float Retail The owner of David Lloyd gyms is considering a £4bn London listing in what would be a major boost for the capital’s stock exchange. TDR Capital, which also owns Asda, is eyeing up the initial public offering (IPO) despite a dearth of high-profile listings in recent years, Morning Wire understands. The private equity firm snapped [...]
Asda boss: Government ‘more and more difficult’ to deal with Retail The boss of supermarket chain Asda has said the government has become “more and more difficult” to deal with, claiming the pressures on business posed by policy have ballooned since he began his career. Allan Leighton, Asda’s chair, said businesses are increasingly facing obstacles to growth which are “not of their own making”. At Tuesday’s [...]
Private markets suffer ‘reality check’ as fundraising dries up February 3, 2026 Private markets fundraising fell to a decade low across Europe in 2025, after a slowdown in dealmaking and stuttering performance led major buyout shops to struggle to return cash to investors. According to a fresh analysis of the sector, a dearth of new mega fund raises and “persistent liquidity constraints” across the industry led fundraising [...]
Coca-Cola abandons Costa Coffee sale plans as Asda owner bids low January 14, 2026 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? December 26, 2025 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 Morning Wire [...]
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, Morning Wire can reveal. A group of existing shareholders participated in the funding in October, Jaja said, and have also vowed to commit a further [...]
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, Morning Wire 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 [...]