Tesco plc

Is Tesco owned by another company?
No, Tesco operates as an independent publicly traded company with no parent organization. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker TSCO and is owned by institutional investors, mutual funds, and individual shareholders. No single entity holds a controlling stake.

Is Tesco publicly traded?
Yes, Tesco is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TSCO. The company has been publicly traded since 1947 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. As of mid-2025, Tesco's market capitalization was approximately £22 billion.

What is Tesco's annual revenue?
Tesco reported FY2025 revenue of £68.2 billion, up 3.1% from £66.1 billion in FY2024. Adjusted operating profit was £2.9 billion. The UK and Ireland segment accounted for 93% of total revenue. The company targets retail adjusted operating profit of at least £2.8 billion for FY2026.

Who founded Tesco?
Jack Cohen founded Tesco in 1919. Cohen was a Royal Flying Corps pilot in World War I who used his £30 demobilization gratuity to buy surplus groceries and sell them from a stall in the East End of London. The name Tesco came from T.E. Stockwell, a tea supplier, combined with the first two letters of Cohen's surname.

What is Tesco's market share in the UK?
Tesco holds a 27.7% share of the UK grocery market as of mid-2025, making it the largest grocer in the country. Its main competitors are Sainsbury's (15.3%), Asda (12.6%), Aldi (11.0%), Morrisons (8.8%), and Lidl (8.1%). Tesco's share has grown slightly over the past year, partly due to its Clubcard Prices loyalty program.

Does Tesco still own Tesco Bank?
No, Tesco sold Tesco Bank to Barclays in 2024 for £600 million. Tesco retains a strategic partnership with Barclays to offer financial products under the Tesco brand, but the banking operation is now run by Barclays. Tesco decided to exit retail banking to focus on its core grocery business.

How many stores does Tesco operate?
Tesco operates more than 4,600 stores across the UK, Ireland, and Central Europe. In the UK, the company operates multiple formats including Tesco Extra (hypermarkets), Tesco Superstores, Tesco Metro, and Tesco Express (convenience). In Central Europe, Tesco operates 646 stores in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia.

Jack Cohen founded Tesco in 1919 when he began selling surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. Cohen had been a Royal Flying Corps pilot in World War I and used his demobilization gratuity of £30 to purchase the first stock. The name "Tesco" came from the initials of T.E. Stockwell, a tea supplier, combined with the first two letters of Cohen's surname.

Cohen opened the first Tesco store in Burnt Oak, Edgware, in 1929. The company expanded through the 1930s, opening stores across London and the surrounding areas. Cohen's philosophy was simple: pile it high, sell it cheap. This approach resonated with working-class consumers during the Great Depression.

Tesco went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1947 with an initial share price of 25p. The IPO raised capital that funded expansion through the 1950s and 1960s. Cohen remained in control until 1979, when he retired from the board.

The 1970s were difficult for Tesco. The company's pile-it-high strategy fell out of favor as consumers increasingly valued quality and shopping experience over price. Competitors like Sainsbury's gained market share. Tesco responded in the 1980s by closing older stores, opening larger superstores, and investing in product quality.

In the 1990s, Tesco overtook Sainsbury's to become the UK's largest grocer. The company launched the Clubcard loyalty program in 1995, which proved to be a turning point. The Clubcard gave Tesco detailed data on customer purchasing habits and allowed the company to target promotions effectively. Tesco also expanded internationally in the 1990s, entering Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

The 2000s brought further international expansion, with entries into South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and China. Tesco also diversified into financial services with Tesco Bank and into telecommunications with Tesco Mobile. The company launched Tesco.com for online grocery shopping in 2000, one of the first major grocers to do so.

The 2010s were a turbulent decade. In 2014, Tesco disclosed a £326 million accounting scandal in which it had overstated profits by recognizing commercial income prematurely. The scandal led to the departure of chairman Richard Broadbent and several senior executives. The Serious Fraud Office investigated and charged three former executives with fraud and false accounting, though all were acquitted in 2018.

Under CEO Dave Lewis (2014-2020), Tesco restructured its operations, cut costs, and rebuilt trust. The company acquired Booker Group, the UK's largest food wholesaler, for £3.7 billion in 2018. Lewis also began divesting international operations, selling Tesco's businesses in Thailand and Malaysia to CP Group for £8.2 billion in 2020.

Ken Murphy succeeded Lewis as CEO in October 2020. Murphy focused on price competitiveness, the Clubcard loyalty program, and operational efficiency. In 2021, Tesco sold its Polish business. In 2024, Tesco sold Tesco Bank to Barclays for £600 million, exiting retail banking to focus on its core grocery business.

In April 2025, Tesco announced a £1 billion share buyback program as part of its capital returns strategy. The company also confirmed it would retain a focus on the UK and Ireland markets, having divested most of its international operations.

Tesco has set science-based emissions reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The company committed to reaching net zero across its own operations by 2035 and across its value chain by 2050. As of 2025, Tesco reported a 61% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions compared to its 2015 baseline.

Tesco has committed to sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. In 2024, the company reported that 100% of electricity used in UK operations came from renewable sources.

On packaging, Tesco has committed to making all own-brand packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable. As of 2025, approximately 85% of own-brand packaging met this standard.

Tesco has faced criticism over its supply chain practices, particularly regarding farmgate prices paid to dairy and poultry farmers. The company has responded with cost-of-production models that tie farmgate prices to input costs, though farmer groups have argued these adjustments are often too slow.

The most significant controversy in Tesco's history was the 2014 accounting scandal. In September 2014, Tesco disclosed that it had overstated its first-half profit by £326 million by recognizing commercial income from suppliers prematurely. The Serious Fraud Office investigated and charged three former executives with fraud and false accounting. All three were acquitted in 2018, but the scandal damaged Tesco's reputation and led to a major overhaul of its governance and financial controls.

The Financial Reporting Council fined Tesco £10 million and reprimanded the company for the accounting irregularities. Deloitte, Tesco's auditor at the time, was also fined £1.5 million for its role in auditing the accounts.

In 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the grocery retail sector, examining whether supermarkets were passing on cost reductions to consumers or inflating margins. The CMA's preliminary findings in 2025 found no evidence of systematic profiteering but noted that retail margins had increased modestly. Tesco cooperated with the investigation.

Tesco has also faced scrutiny over its treatment of suppliers. The Groceries Code Adjudicator, which regulates relationships between large grocers and their direct suppliers, has investigated Tesco on several occasions. In 2023, the Adjudicator found that Tesco had made some improvements in supplier relationships but noted ongoing concerns about delays in payments.

In 2025, Tesco faced criticism from environmental groups for its continued sale of products containing palm oil from suppliers linked to deforestation. The company responded by pointing to its Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification and its commitment to sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil.