Asda: UK supermarket selling 24 stores in £568m deal to shore up finances - will shops near me be closing?

Asda is selling 24 stores and a distribution depot in a £568m deal to boost financesTwo buyers are involved: Blue Owl Capital and DTZ InvestorsAll stores will remain open, with staff unaffected and no changes for customers.The sales are part of Asda’s long-term property strategy to release capital while ‘keeping control’ A major UK supermarket chain is selling off dozens of sites to raise cash, but insists customers won’t see any difference on the shop floor. Asda, which has been working to stabilise its finances, has agreed to sell 24 supermarkets and a major distribution depot in a deal worth £568 million. The move will help pay down debt and free up funds for its ongoing turnaround under chairman Allan Leighton. Which locations are affected? Two buyers are involved in the deal: US investment firm Blue Owl Capital, and Blue Owl’s joint venture with Supermarket Income REIT. Between them, they will take on 20 of the stores plus Asda’s large Lutterworth distribution depot. Information on those 20 stores affected has not yet been made publicly available. Four further shops in Birmingham, Greater London, Leeds, and Coventry will be sold to London-based DTZ Investors. Asda says the move is part of a long-term property strategy that balances owning stores outright with “selective” sales to release capital while keeping “full operational control.” The supermarket is set to update investors on its latest trading performance next week. Its most recent annual accounts show Asda ended 2024 with £3.8 billion of net debt, prompting renewed efforts to strengthen the balance sheet. Will Asda stores close? Crucially, no stores are set to close, and all staff will remain in place. Each site will continue to operate as an Asda, with the company leasing back every property on a 25-year deal and the option to extend for another decade. Customers should not see any operational changes as a result of the sale-and-leaseback arrangements.