The pruning of assets at cash-strapped supermarket giant Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) continues with the confirmation of the sale of its Dobbies Garden Centres.
The business, which Tesco acquired in 2007 for £124.5mln, is being sold for £217mln to an investor group led by Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital.
“It was a difficult decision to sell the business, but we believe this agreement will give Dobbies a bright future, while allowing our UK retail business to focus on its core strengths," said Tesco chief executive, Dave Lewis.
Last week Tesco announced the saler of the Giraffe restaurant chain to Boparan Restaurants Holdings, which also owns fish ‘n’ chips chain Harry Ramsdens as well as other food interests, including Goodfella’s pizza, Fox’s Biscuits and poultry suppliers.
Tesco bought the Giraffe business for £49mln three years ago; the sale fee was not disclosed.
Shares in Tesco rose 1.1% to 154.4p.
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