Asda Owner Faces Scrutiny Over Petrol Pricing Amid Accusations of Exploiting the Cost of Living Crisis
The reclusive billionaire owner of Asda will be summoned before MPs to answer questions about the company’s petrol pricing, as allegations mount that it is taking advantage of the cost of living crisis to boost its profit margins.
The Commons business and trade committee has written a letter to Mohsin Issa regarding potential discrepancies between the statements made by Asda’s chief commercial officer, Kris Comerford, last week, and a recent study by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
On June 27, Comerford claimed that Asda’s fuel pricing strategy had remained consistent over the years. However, the CMA found that supermarkets, including Asda, had intentionally increased their profit margins by an average of 6p per liter between 2019 and 2022.
The CMA also stated that Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s collectively overcharged drivers by £900million in 2022, singling out Asda for its profit-per-liter target in 2023, which is three times higher than it was in 2019.
Price gouging: The Competition and Markets Authority found supermarkets including Asda had sought to increase profits from selling fuel between 2019 and 2022.
Furthermore, Asda was fined £60,000 by the CMA for failing to provide pricing details promptly to the regulator.
Darren Jones, the chairman of the cross-party committee, expressed concern over the disparity between Comerford’s statements and the CMA’s findings. Jones has invited Mohsin Issa to appear before the committee on July
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