It has been reported that supermarket giant Tesco has recovered ownership of 21 superstores in a £733 million asset swap with British Land.

The stores were part of a joint venture between the two companies, in which Tesco paid inflation-linked rent payments to British Land.

In exchange for the 21 stores transferring to Tesco, British Land will take over Tesco’s stake in three standalone stores, three retail parks and three shopping centres, assets which are valued at £381 million.

In a statement, Tesco’s new chief executive Dave Lewis said the property swap makes the grocer’s business “simpler and stronger”.

He said last year he had identified the opportunity to increase the proportion of 3,300 UK stores owned by Tesco as freehold, which was 53% in October. “This transaction with British Land allows us to increase our ownership and thereby insulate more of our businesses from indexed rent reviews. We have a long way to go but it’s a transaction which takes us in the right direction.”
It was also reported that Tesco’s online managing director Simon Belsham has quit Tesco to become the chief executive of etailer Notonthehighstreet.com.