Tesco progress on Turkish supermarket deal

Supermarket giant Tesco today said it had made progress on a potential deal to extend its international reach to Turkey.

Tesco already operates in 10 countries and is involved in discussions over the possible acquisition of shares in Turkish hypermarket chain Kipa. The company, which has five outlets, is valued at over €100m.

Details of an exclusivity agreement between the pair emerged in August and today’s statement from Tesco confirmed a conditional contract had been signed.

The group said: “The agreement is subject to a number of material conditions. If these conditions are satisfied closing of the deal is expected to be later in the current financial year.”

Tesco now employs 75,000 of its 296,000 staff outside the UK in countries including Ireland, South Korea, Thailand and Poland.

Results earlier this month showed overseas sales for the year to February 22 rose 31% to £5.2bn (€7.5bn). Group-wide profits lifted 15% to £1.4bn (€2.02bn).