British Lawmakers to Question Asda Co-Owner Over Fuel Pricing Strategy Amid Competition Regulator Findings

British lawmakers will question Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, over the supermarket's fuel pricing strategy following apparent discrepancies between statements made by one of his lieutenants and findings by the UK's competition regulator.

The lower house of parliament's Business and Trade Committee is concerned about comments made by Asda's chief commercial officer, Kris Comerford, during a hearing on June 27, which appeared to contradict the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its market study of the supply of road fuel.

The CMA found that UK drivers who bought fuel at supermarkets in 2022 paid around 6 pence per litre more than they would have done otherwise due to the traditional 'big four' supermarkets - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, and Morrisons - increasing their margins.

The regulator blamed the weakening competition on a decision by Asda and Morrisons to compete less hard in order to achieve higher margins, and a lack of competitive response to this by others.

However, Comerford told the committee that Asda's fuel pricing strategy had "not changed over many years".

In a letter to the committee, Issa said Comerford had correctly stated Asda's strategic position - to be the best value fuel retailer in the UK.

He also argued that fuel and food should be considered as a single business, not separately as the committee had done.

The committee is also seeking clarification on Comerford's denial that Asda is employing so-called fire and rehire tactics, which allows employers to change contract terms.

Sarah Cardell, the CMA's chief executive, will appear before Issa to discuss details of its market study of the road fuel market.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.