We have examined Tesco and some of its organisational policies on a number of occasions here in Financial Regulation Matters . Most recently, we looked at how it was adopting a more regional approach to its business by acquiring companies like Booker, and moving away from its previous, more global ambitions. One element that clearly illustrates this once global ambition, and subsequent retreating from it, is the company’s Asian endeavour. Tesco Lotus , which saw the firm expand out into Thailand and Malaysia mainly, has proven to be successful for Tesco, relatively speaking – it has been suggested by experts that from the nearly 2000 stores it has in the region, Tesco Lotus accounts for more than 9% of the company’s global retail sales, with the division reporting nearly £2.6 billion in sales last year alone . However, as part of an operational turn-around, Tesco is looking to sell the division. Yet, according to a recent Financial Times article, that plan may not be as straigh...

As is the remit of Financial Regulation Matters , it should not be surprising that analysing financial regulators is of key concern for this blog. In doing that, however, we get to see the diverging experiences of a financial regulator, and how differing approaches yield very different results. We have examined a number of regulators throughout the years in this blog, and two have factored heavily in our analyses. Today, we revisit the two particular stories which have evolved recently and left the respective regulators facing a number of criticisms. The SFO’s Pursuit of Tesco Directors Fails We examined the case of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launching proceedings against three Tesco Executives back in February. Then we discussed how the SFO were alleging that fraud by abuse of position, and false accounting were the crimes of Carl Rogberg, John Scouler, and Christopher Bush. That post asked whether the SFO would continue in their pursuit, and shortly afterwards it was ...

This very brief post provides a small update on a continuing story that has been covered throughout here in Financial Regulation Matters . Tesco has been in the news a lot recently, whether that be on account of aiming to move into the ‘discount supermarket’ marketplace , or on account of a massive amount of job losses as the company goes through a restructuring process, both on the shop floor and across management . However, our focus today will be on providing an update to the ongoing attempted takeover of the wholesale firm Booker. The proposed takeover of Bookers has been a protracted one, and although the deal has been given the go-ahead, slightly controversially, from competition regulators , there are still a number of hurdles to clear before the deal can be completed. Whilst the approval from the competition regulator was a major hurdle, getting everybody on side is perhaps the largest hurdle and, in that sense, the deal still has some way to go before it can cross the...

In today’s post, the focus will once again be on the massive retailer Tesco, with news this time relating to a potentially record-breaking claim making its way up the legal ladder. We looked on Tuesday at the protracted fraud case involving Tesco executives , which subsequently collapsed, but today the retailer is making the headlines as part of a concerted legal push against a number of the top supermarkets in the U.K., all on the same basis. In this post we will assess the particulars of the claim, and look at the potential effects for the retailer, and the sector moreover. On a number of occasions here in Financial Regulation Matters , we have assessed the concepts of equality and equal-pay between the genders on a number of occasions, with most posts focusing upon the lack of diversity within companies (see here , here , and here ). Today’s post however focuses on the claim from the law firm Leigh Day, acting as a representative for potentially more than 200,000 Tesco staff,...

Today’s brief post looks at the fraud case concerning three Tesco Executives that has been rumbling on for months at great expense. Today, there was a major development which raises the question as to whether the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will continue its action against the three Executives, bearing in mind the many different factors that must now be taken into consideration; in this post, those factors will be laid before we assess whether it is (a) worth the SFO continuing its action and (b) what the effects of that decision, either way, may be. We have looked at this case before , albeit briefly, in Financial Regulation Matters when we looked at the decision of the Financial Reporting Council to discontinue investigations into PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the wake of the massive accounting scandal that saw the SFO fine Tesco £129 million for the accounting transgression. The current case is concerned with three individuals in particular – Carl Rogberg, John Scouler, a...

Yesterday Financial Regulation Matters was a year old and, coincidentally, a number of stories covered throughout the first year of the blog have had some significant developments over the past few days; so, in today’s post, we will have a whistle-stop tour of these developments and ask how the recent developments may impact upon a number of parties concerned with these impactful business stories. Samsung Heir Released from Prison On the 25 th August 2017, we assessed the impact of the changing political, legal, and business landscape within South Korea with the massive news that Lee Jae-yong, the heir to the massive Samsung empire, was to be imprisoned for five years on counts of bribery, embezzlement, and perjury amongst a whole host of criminal infractions as part of his attempt to consolidate his, and his company’s position as one of the leading ‘ chaebols ’. The news today, that Lee’s sentence was reduced to a suspended sentence after just a year in prison , should b...

In today’s post, the focus will be on a few potential M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) deals that the British competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is currently dealing with. Whilst also serving as a review of the recent business news in this field, this post will seek to analyse the complex nature of the CMA’s task and all of the aspects that it must consider; the effect of their decision in a given case will, by its very definition, go on to have massive consequences for those businesses involved and, more importantly, the public which is exposed to the effects of these potential deals. What we will see is that, in a number of cases, the balance which is aimed for will weigh heavier on any given side, but finding a solution to this is almost impossible, if even desirable. First up for us is Tesco and its proposed deal to take over the wholesale company Booker, which is something we have analysed before here in Financial Regulation Matters . The...

Today’s post looks at the issue developing in the corporate world concerning multiple Chairmanships, particularly with regard to leading companies. Following on from investor unrest regarding the positions held by the Chairman of Tesco, which will be discussed in this post, recent investor action against the positions held by Renault-Nissan Chief Carlos Ghosn is keeping this issue in the headlines. So, in order to make sense out of this we will examine the two stories and look at how reasonable it is for one person to hold multiple Chairmanships; with the recent and relative rise of shareholder activism, it is likely that this issue will continue to arise. Before we look at the issues within the French car manufacturer, we need to revisit someone who we have discussed before here in Financial Regulation Matters , and that is the Chairman of Tesco, John Allan. Rather than focus on his comments regarding gender equality, as we have already done, the turn of the year represents a ...

In today’s post we will assess a few pieces of news that are pertinent to a number of recent posts here in Financial Regulation Matters , with the focus being on the potential case looming over RBS against 9,000 shareholders and investors, a public rebuke for the Lloyds’ Compensation Scheme that is still to be concluded, and finally the news that a major case of potential fraud has been dismissed by a leading regulator, which comes at an unfortunate time with the Government publicly denouncing another regulator/agency that is concerned with punishing instances of fraud (the Serious Fraud Office). Fred Goodwin and RBS Appear to Have Dodged a Bullet At the end of last month we discussed the case concerning RBS and its £12 billion cash-call in 2008 which, subsequently, resulted in a large number of shareholders and investors losing substantial amounts of money. The investors have been claiming that the Bank purposely obscured details of the health of the bank before issuing t...

In the second post today, the focus will be on the news recently that two major shareholders in Tesco, the massive retail company that engages in multiple avenues of business, have sought to publicly express their opposition to the company’s plans to purchase Booker , a wholesale grocery firm, for a reported £3.7 billion. Whilst there are more elements to this story which need to be discussed, the sentiment that is emanating from this news, that shareholders are taking the long-term into account and not succumbing to the destructive narrative of growth at any cost is the most important way forward, is a very welcome sentiment indeed. Therefore, this post will assess these details, and also the importance of this sentiment being repeated in other arenas. The attempted merger with Booker, which was originally made public in January, was billed as a move which would bring benefits to customers, retailers, and ultimately deliver ‘ significant shareholder value ’. However, the deal...

This very short post looks at the attention-grabbing headline today emanating from a speech made by the Chairman of Tesco, John Allan. His comments, which will be discussed shortly, were clarified by Allen as being intended to be ‘ humorous, a bit hyperbolic ’ and also intended to ‘ give [women] some encouragement ’, but the question for this post is what this type of sentiment actually demonstrates, and what it reveals in terms of the endeavour to achieve gender equality in all walks of life. This post is starting from the viewpoint that the comments were probably hyperbolic in nature, but that the intentions of Allen, to highlight the progress made in terms of gender equality, have actually backfired and reveal an adversarial environment within which equality is practiced in language, but not in reality. John Allan, speaking to the Retail Week Live Conference, said that ‘if you are female and from an ethnic background – and preferably both – then you are in an extremely propit...