Tesco (TSCO) has opened its compensation scheme for share or bondholders who were net purchasers of stock or certain bonds issued by the grocery giant between 29 August and 19 September 2014. This period was just prior to the supermarket chain’s disastrous announcement that it had discovered a profit overstatement of around £250m. The announcement topped off a series of bad trading updates in which the company warned on revenues and profits, replaced its chief executive and slashed its dividend by 75 per cent to 1.16p a share. Since then, the company has been forced to set aside £235m for compensation and fines and £199m for restructuring and redundancies. Shares bottomed out at 171p, and despite a strong recovery in early 2015 are now trading at around 189p.
Net buyers of Tesco's shares are entitled to 24.5p for each purchased, plus annual interest of 4 per cent for retail investors or 1.25 per cent for institutional investors. The scheme is being administered by KPMG. Eligible claimants will receive a letter from KPMG soon, or claims can be submitted through www.kpmg.co.uk/tesco-scheme, where you can also find details of required documentation and further information. Claims must be submitted before 22 February 2018.
Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis is still struggling to win back investor confidence after launching a recovery plan to put customers “back at the heart” of the business. Pre-tax profits were down 28 per cent to £145m during the 12 months to February 2017.
