Sainsbury’s, Asda and Aldi join rivals in rates hand back

S a i n s b u r y ’ s a n d A s d a have joined rivals Tesco and Morrisons to hand back millions of p ounds saved from a business rates holiday, in a move that will boost Scottish Government coffers.

The decision to hand back £ 4 4 0 m i l l i o n a n d A s d a t o waive £340m of relief means t h a t t h e f o u r s u p e r m a r k e t giants will be repaying some £1.6 billion to the UK government and devolved administrations. Te sco had already announced that it would hand back £585m and Morrisons £274m.

Meanwhile, discount retailer Aldi has announced plans to give back more than £100m.

Business rates are devolved in Scotland. Following Tesco’s decision to hand back £585m, the Scottish government forecast a £60m benefit.

B osses at S ainsbur y’s said sales and profits have b een stronger than expected since the start of the second national lockdown in England and the p ay men t wi ll c o me d e s p ite spending £290m on making the business Covid-safe.

Chief executive Simon Robe r t s s a i d : “W h i l e we h a v e incurred significant costs in keeping colleagues and customers safe, fo o d and other essential retailers have benefited from being able to open throughout.

“With regional restrictions likely to remain in place for some time, we believe it is now fair and right to forgo the business rates relief that we have been given on all Sainsbur y’s stores. We are ver y mindful t ha t non- e s s e nt i a l r e t a i l e r s and many other businesses have been forced to close again in the second lockdown and we hope that this goes some way towards helping them.

“We continue to urge government to review the business rates system to create more of a level playing field bet ween physical and online retailers.”

The business rates holiday was announced in March by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, aimed at helping retailers and hospitality firms forced to close due to the pandemic.

Asked if it would match the Tesco pledge, the Co - op said the amount spent on protecting staff and customers outweighed the savings.

I t a d d e d : “Give n t h e h u g e u n c e r t a i n t y we’r e f a c i n g … a n d t h e o n g o i n g c o s t s we are incurring, we’ll consider our approach in terms of the g ove r n me n t s u p p o r t we’ve received at year end.”

A spokesman for Waitroseowner John Lewis Par tner - ship said: “We are incredibly grateful for this vital support because we have lost significant sales while our John Lewis shops have been closed, and have invested heavily to keep our par tners and customers safe.

“T h e o u t l o o k r e m a i n s incredibly uncertain and government support remains crucial to help us navigate the crisis. We’re a business owned by our employees – our partners, not external shareholders – and we don’t intend to pay a bonus this year. Whenever we make any money, it is invested in our partners, our business and charitable giving.”

Early in the pandemic crisis, Tesco faced criticism for taking the rates relief at the same time as handing out large dividend payments to shareholders. However, it did not tap into t h e g ove r n me n t ’s f u r l o u g h scheme. Tesco chief execu - tive Ken Murphy said: “While business rates relief was a critical support at a time of significant uncertainty, some of the p otential risks we faced are now behind us.”