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Tesco

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FY2019 Annual Report · Tesco
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9

Serving shoppers  
a little better every day.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our business was built with a simple mission – to be the 
champion for customers, helping them to enjoy a better  
quality of life and an easier way of living. Our mission hasn’t  
changed in the one hundred years since. Customers want 
great products at great value, and it’s our job to deliver this 
in the right way for them.

That’s why ‘serving shoppers a little better every day’ is 
our core purpose - putting customers at the heart of 
everything we do and guiding every decision we make.

As we celebrate our centenary year, we’re reiterating 
our commitment to great value, for every one of our 
key stakeholders and in every part of our business.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

2019 highlights

Headline measures.
Group salesΔ

Group operating profit before exceptional and other itemsΔ(a)

Diluted EPS before exceptional and other itemsΔ(b)

2018: 11.90p*

2018: £51.0bn*

Retail operating cash flowΔ(c)

11.5% £56.9bn
29.4% 15.40p
(9.8)% £2,502m
Statutory measures.
Statutory revenue
11.2% £63.9bn
28.8% £1,674m

Statutory profit before tax

2018: £1,300m*

2018: £57.5bn*

2018: £2,773m

Dividend per share

2018: £1,646m*

34.0% £2,206m
92.3% 5.77p
(9.1)% £(2.9)bn

2018: £(2.6)bn

2018: 3.00p

Net debtΔ(c)

Operating profit

Statutory diluted EPS

17.1% £2,153m
11.9% 13.55p

2018: £1,839m*

2018: 12.11p*

Δ	 Alternative	performance	measures	(APM)

Measures with this symbol Δ are defined in the Glossary section on pages 178 to 181.

All measures reported on a continuing operations basis.  
Change shown at actual exchange rates.

(a)  Excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles and excludes exceptional items 
by virtue of their size and nature in order to reflect management’s view of the 
underlying performance of the Group.

(b)  Diluted EPS before exceptional and other items refers to diluted earnings per share from 
continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements on financial instruments.

(c)  Net debt and Retail operating cash flow exclude the impact of Tesco Bank.
*  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15 as explained in Note 1 and Note 36.

Contents.
Strategic report.
2019 highlights  ...................................................................................................................................1
Chairman’s statement  ..............................................................................................................2
Group Chief Executive’s review  ........................................................................................3
Celebrating 100 years of great value  ............................................................................8
About Tesco ......................................................................................................................................10
Our business model  ..................................................................................................................12
Our six strategic drivers  ........................................................................................................14
Our key performance indicators  ...................................................................................16
Financial review  ............................................................................................................................18
Little Helps Plan  ...........................................................................................................................24
Non-financial reporting statement...............................................................................31
Principal risks and uncertainties  ...................................................................................32
Corporate governance.
Corporate governance report  ........................................................................................38
Chairman’s letter  .............................................................................................................38
Board of Directors  .........................................................................................................40
Executive committee ....................................................................................................44
Corporate governance framework  ..................................................................46
Nominations and Governance Committee  ...............................................54
Corporate Responsibility Committee  ............................................................55
Audit Committee  ..............................................................................................................56
Directors’ remuneration report  ....................................................................................62
Directors’ report  ........................................................................................................................80

Financial statements.
Independent auditor’s report to the members of Tesco PLC  ...........84
Group income statement  ...................................................................................................92
Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss)  ...................................93
Group balance sheet  ..............................................................................................................94
Group statement of changes in equity  ...................................................................95
Group cash flow statement  ..............................................................................................97
Notes to the Group financial statements  .............................................................98
Tesco PLC – Parent Company balance sheet  .................................................162
Tesco PLC – Parent Company statement of changes in equity  ......163
Notes to the Parent Company financial statements  ................................164
Related undertakings of the Tesco Group  .........................................................169
Other information.
Supplementary information (unaudited)  .............................................................174
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ................................177
Glossary (including APM definitions)  .........................................................................178
Five-year record  .......................................................................................................................182
Shareholder information  ...................................................................................................183

The screen icon indicates where further 
information is available online. We have also 
produced a number of short videos, available 
at www.tescoplc.com/ar2019.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019
Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

1
1

Strategic reportChairman’s statement

Continued progress.

In support of that, members of the Board have spent time 
engaging with customers, colleagues and a wide range of 
stakeholders.

There have been two changes to the composition of the Board 
in the year:

 – Due to illness, Charles Wilson stepped down from the Board 
in July, but we are very pleased that his recovery has been 
successful. Charles continues to lead Booker and, as a member 
of the Executive Committee, the wider Tesco business benefits 
from his continued involvement in matters of strategy.

 – In September, we were delighted to welcome Melissa Bethell to 
the Board, bringing a broad range of experience and skills from 
a background in strategy, finance and technology. Melissa is 
also a member of the Audit Committee.

Throughout the year, the Board’s discussions have focused on 
longer-term strategic planning. With the progress that the business 
has made against our six strategic drivers – the medium-term 
ambitions that we outlined in October 2016, and which are 
detailed on pages 14 and 15 of this report – we have dedicated 
significant time and energy to developing our plans for sustainable 
growth into the future.

For every one of our stakeholders – our customers, colleagues, 
suppliers and shareholders – the direction of our future plans 
will build on the momentum of our last four years of turnaround, 
putting customers at the heart of everything we do.

From a shareholder perspective, the lens through which the 
Executive team manage the business will be four-fold, with a 
focus on customer satisfaction, cash profitability, free cash flow 
and earnings growth.

Importantly, the Directors’ discussions on sustainable growth do 
not focus solely on financial metrics. The Board considers it critical 
that we monitor and respond to broader issues of sustainability, 
including climate change and responsible sourcing, so that our 
business is well placed to succeed in the years ahead.

We also believe in developing a sustainable pool of talent within 
Tesco, and we are committed to supporting people at every level 
and from every background, to develop their careers with us.

You can read more about our approach to sustainability on 
pages 24 to 31 of this Report, and in our separate Little 
Helps Plan report.

This has been a significant year for Tesco – not just because of its 
historical importance, as we celebrate 100 years of great value – 
but also because of the strong position we have built in our ongoing 
turnaround. We enter the next chapter in our history with 
confidence in our plans, and with strong momentum.

John Allan
Non-executive Chairman

“Our strong performance is a 
reflection of the hard work 
of our 450,000 colleagues”

John Allan
Non-executive Chairman

Visit www.tescoplc.com/ar2019  
to hear more from John Allan.

This has been another strong year for Tesco. We have made further 
progress with our plans to create value for customers, at the same 
time as delivering significant returns for shareholders – with 
operating profit for the Group exceeding £2bn for the first time in 
our four years of turnaround.

The Board’s increasing focus on growth in earnings and free cash 
flow generation has also allowed us to pay a dividend for a second 
successive year.

More broadly, our strong performance is a reflection of the hard 
work of our 450,000 colleagues, and their commitment to serving 
shoppers a little better every day – led by a management team that 
has a clear focus on customers.

The Board places a significant focus not just on the strategic plans 
developed by management, but also on the wider culture of our 
business. Our centenary year offers a timely reminder of what 
made Tesco the business that it is today, as we celebrate 100 years 
of great value. It is also an opportunity to further engage the whole 
Tesco team on the purpose and values that define our 
organisation.

2

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Group Chief Executive’s review

“Over the last 100 years, Tesco has 
been an innovator, a disruptor, 
and above all it has listened to 
customers – meeting their needs 
better than anybody else. Retail 
has changed a lot in that time, 
and so has our business.”

Dave Lewis
Group Chief Executive

Visit www.tescoplc.com/ar2019  
to hear more from Dave Lewis.

Creating long-term, 
sustainable value.

This year has been an important milestone for Tesco.
In 2019, we are celebrating 100 years since Jack Cohen first set up 
his East London market stall – and reiterating our commitments to 
great value for customers. It’s also an important milestone in the 
turnaround that we began in 2015, and which we are successfully 
delivering – and I’m confident we will finish the job in 2019/20.

After four years of turnaround, we have made significant progress. 
We have transformed the Tesco brand; significantly reduced our 
cost base; generated £2.5bn of retail operating cash this year, 
and achieved a Group operating margin for the full year of 3.45% 
– reaching 3.96% in the second half of the year. We have also 
released £1.7bn of value from our property portfolio since the 
start of our turnaround, and built a culture of innovation.

Our balance sheet is stronger too, with total indebtedness of  
£(22)bn in 2015 reduced to £(12)bn at the end of this year.

Importantly, the progress we are making is broad-based. In the 
UK, we have rebuilt the competitiveness of our offer; in Central 
Europe, we have simplified our business and delivered a 
significant cost reduction programme; and in Asia, we have 
successfully renegotiated terms with our suppliers, supporting 
our profit recovery.

This strong financial performance is driven by a strategic 
decision to manage our business with a long-term focus on 
four key metrics: customer satisfaction, cash profitability, 
free cash flow and earnings growth.

It also reflects the plans we have delivered this year to create 
value for each of our key stakeholders – our customers, 
colleagues, suppliers and shareholders.

Customers.
We have continued our focus on providing customers with quality 
products at great prices. Our customers’ perceptions of quality 
and value have continued to improve throughout our turnaround, 
and more customers are recommending Tesco as a place to shop.

Our customer offer is stronger, with almost 10,000 Own Brand 
products relaunched in the UK. Importantly, this includes 
completing the roll-out of our entry-level product tier 
in the UK, introducing eight new ‘Exclusively at Tesco’ brands. 
These products offer exceptional value and customers are 
responding very positively. 

In Asia, we have launched almost 600 new Own Brand products, 
with positive customer feedback and an increase in Own Brand 
sales participation in both Thailand and Malaysia.

We continue to help our customers who want to make healthier 
choices and in September, through our health event in UK stores 
– our first in partnership with Jamie Oliver – we offered a basket 
of ‘helpful little swaps’ which was 12% cheaper than a standard basket.

As part of our centenary celebrations, we have also launched 
a new store format in the UK, Jack’s – which proudly supports 
Britain’s food producing communities, with eight out of ten 
Jack’s branded food and drink products grown, reared or 
made in Britain – and offers customers a no-fuss approach, 
with a low-cost business model. 

In Central Europe, we have launched ‘Star Lines’, with more than 
600 products benchmarked on quality and price against the 
market, so that customers can shop with confidence. We have 
also continued our Food Love Stories campaign, sharing our 
passion for food and showcasing the quality of our products.

And at Tesco Bank, we have launched new technology to 
simplify banking for customers, including an improved mobile 
app, which is now the preferred method of account access 
for 1.2 million customers.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

3

Strategic reportColleagues.
We want Tesco to be a great place to work for all of our 
colleagues, and to make it easier for them to do what they 
do best – serving our shoppers. 

In November, we implemented the final stage of a 10.5% 
pay increase for our hourly-paid UK store colleagues. We 
have a consistent principle that we aim to pay all colleagues 
competitively against the relevant pay benchmark.

Last year, we launched our National Charity Partnership, 
bringing together three of the UK’s leading health charities: 
Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and 
Diabetes UK. 

Through that partnership, we are helping our colleagues to 
lead healthier lives, and this year we conducted the UK’s 
largest ever workplace health survey, with more than 8,000 
colleagues taking part. More than 20,000 colleagues have 
also benefited from e-learning to support mental wellbeing.

We are committed to offering good career opportunities, 
and this year over 1,000 colleagues took part in one of our 
apprenticeship programmes, supporting existing Tesco 
colleagues to develop new skills and helping young people 
start their career.

In Ireland, we were particularly pleased to be independently 
recognised as a top Irish workplace for a second year, as well as 
being named one of the best workplaces for women, reflecting 
our aim to give everyone an equal opportunity to get on.

Tesco continues to be a place where people can develop, 
and access a huge breadth of opportunity. 

However, this has also been a significant year of change for 
our business, which has had an impact on our colleagues. 
These changes are necessary as we respond to changes in the 
way that customers shop with us, and will ensure that we are 
operating our business sustainably. 

Whenever we make any change in our business, our priority 
is always to support our colleagues, and to stay true to our values.

Our values.
No one tries 
harder for 
customers

We treat people 
how they want to 
be treated

Every little help 
makes a big 
difference

4

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Suppliers.
We continue to strengthen the partnerships we have with 
our suppliers.

For a third successive year, we ranked first in the 
independent supplier Advantage survey, and our Supplier 
Viewpoint measure for the Group reached a high of 77.5% 
in the second half of the year.

Our close, trusted partnerships with suppliers allow us to 
deliver great quality products to our customers, at great value. 

We are committing to long-term strategic relationships with 
our closest supplier partners, supporting them to invest in 
improving the value and quality of our products, and 
increasing the efficiency of our supply chain. This year we 
have also worked together with our suppliers to make 
sensible preparations for Brexit, seeking to protect service 
and availability for our customers.

As we grow our business, that presents an opportunity for 
our partners to grow with us too. 

Through our merger with Booker, suppliers can access the 
combined growth of a Group which serves not just the retail 
market, but also wholesale and food eaten ‘out of home’. 

Our alliance with Carrefour presents a further opportunity 
for growth, covering the strategic relationship with global 
suppliers, the joint purchasing of Own Brand products and 
goods not for resale.

We’re also working with suppliers to make products healthier 
and more sustainable. In Thailand, we became the first 
retailer to bring all our Own Brand soft drinks below 6g of 
sugar per 100ml and we have removed trans fats from all 
Tesco bakery items. In the UK, we have worked with our 
suppliers to remove more than 2,900 tonnes of hard to 
recycle materials from our Own Brand products.

358 suppliers

worked with us to develop 

1,800 products

for our new Jack’s brand

Alternative performance measures referred to in this 
statement are defined in the Glossary on pages 178 to 181.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

5

Strategic reportGroup Chief Executive’s review continued

Shareholders.
We continue to create long-term, sustainable value for 
shareholders, investing in our competitiveness in all of our 
markets and being more selective in the mix of products 
we sell, moving away from loss-making categories. 

We have made a number of key decisions to support this, 
including the closure of Tesco Direct, stepping back from 
unprofitable general merchandise sales in Central Europe, 
and an accelerated transformation plan in Asia. 

We are delivering the synergies from our merger with Booker, 
with £79m realised in this first year, and we are well on track 
to meet our target recurring run-rate of around £200m 
per year by the end of the third year. Our Joining Forces 
programme continues at pace, with top Booker products 
now available in 70 Tesco stores and, for Booker customers, 
a significant improvement in the quality of the top 20  
fastest-selling retail fruit and vegetable lines.

At the same time, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet, 
reducing total indebtedness and lowering our interest costs. 

Reflecting our strong underlying financial performance, we are 
also proposing a final dividend of 4.10 pence, taking the full-year 
dividend to 5.77 pence, an increase of 92.3% year-on-year. We 
now expect to reach a dividend cover level of around two times 
earnings (on a post-IFRS 16 basis) in the 2019/20 financial year.

Sustainable value.
It has been a strong year for Tesco, and the strategic decisions 
we have made are allowing us to grow our business sustainably.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our colleagues in 
delivering our plans, we have already met the vast majority 
of our turnaround objectives. This puts us in a good position 
to further invest in our competitiveness, and to face into 
challenging conditions in each of our markets, including:

 – the unlevel playing field created by the business rates system 

in the UK, which continues to place a significant burden on the 
retail industry, with our own bill at around £700m each year; 

 – changes to Sunday trading regulations in Poland which have 
impacted sales for Central Europe, contributing to a (2.3)% 
sales decline; and 

 – the market in Thailand – which is highly competitive and 

challenging – and the issuance of government welfare cards, 
which had an impact of (1.2)% on Asia sales this year, although 
this had eased by the end of the fourth quarter.

While these and other headwinds will continue, we will succeed 
by staying true to what we have always done best throughout 
our 100-year history: being a champion for customers.

6

That means offering great value, the best quality, and helpful 
service. Jack Cohen did exactly that when he first set out his 
market stall, and the same spirit still drives Tesco today.

It also means creating value in a wider sense, for 
communities and for society.

We are committed to tackling the issues that matter – setting 
targets and measuring our progress against them.

This year we have:

 – achieved 81% of our target that no food that is safe for 

human consumption should go to waste in our UK business;

 – donated the equivalent of 62.7 million meals to local 

charities and community groups in the UK, Ireland, Central 
Europe and Asia, and also launched a training programme 
with a goal to help more than 1,000 community cooks in 
the UK make the most of the donations they receive;

 – increased sales of healthy products by 17% year-on-year 
in our September 2018 ‘helpful little swaps’ event; and

 – begun trials of a ‘reverse vending’ scheme for plastic 

bottles in the UK and Thailand. 

We are also partnering with external organisations, 
working together with shared ambitions. This year we 
have launched a new partnership with WWF, with the 
aim of reducing the environmental impact of the average 
UK shopping basket by 50%.

We are making good progress in each of the areas of our 
Little Helps Plan, and we want to go even further to achieve 
our goal of providing customers with affordable, healthy, 
sustainable food.
One hundred years of great value.
Over the last 100 years, Tesco has been an innovator,  
a disruptor, and above all it has listened to customers  
– meeting their needs better than anybody else. Retail 
has changed a lot in that time, and so has our business. 

From bringing self-service supermarkets to the UK, fighting 
against Resale Price Maintenance, delivering the first-ever 
online food shop or rewarding loyalty through Clubcard, 
Tesco has always been at its best when we are doing the 
right thing for customers.

That has been the guiding principle of our four years of 
turnaround, and it continues to guide every decision we 
make today. 

As we celebrate our centenary, we are in a strong position. 
It’s a moment to reflect on our past – but also to look ahead 
to the future. And as we do so, our focus is clear: to create 
long-term, sustainable value for every stakeholder in our 
business, for many years to come. 

Dave Lewis
Group Chief Executive

More detail on our performance, including 
statutory results, can be found in our 
Financial review on pages 18 to 23.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

7

Strategic reportCelebrating 100 years of great value

A born entrepreneur: 
Jack Cohen founded Tesco 
in 1919. Jack took his £30 
demob money at the end 
of the First World War, 
bought some surplus army 
food and got himself a 
pitch. By the end of that 
first morning he’d taken 
£4, of which £1 was his own. 

Jack was a grafter. 
A family man. And 
he worked hard 
to give customers 
what they needed. 

8

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

1920s

Jack’s first store:
In 1929, Jack set up shop 
in North London under the 
Tesco name. Tesco comes 
from the initials ‘TES’ of 
T.E. Stockwell, a tea 
supplier and partner of 
Jack’s, as well as the ‘CO’ 
from Jack’s surname.

Strategic report

A lot has changed since Jack Cohen set up his market stall 
 in 1919, but not our commitment to great value.

We’re proud to be celebrating our centenary, promising great value 
for customers, colleagues and communities.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

9

Celebrating 100 years  
of great value.

1960s

Something for nothing: 
We introduced Green Shield stamps in 
1963, and they soon became a national 
phenomenon. These stamps could be 
exchanged for a range of goods in our 
Green Shield catalogue, giving 
customers even better value at Tesco. 

1930s

Fighting for customers: 
When Britain went to war in 
1939, this time Jack fought on 
the home front, for fair food 
rationing. He worked with 
Government on a simple points 
system, where everyone was 
treated equally, rich or poor.

1970s

Value at the pumps and 
a legacy to remember:
We changed the rules of fuel 
retailing, as we opened our 
first Tesco petrol stations 
– giving customers another 
great reason to shop with us. 
But it was also the end of an 
era, as Jack Cohen passed 
away in 1979.

1977

Checkout at Tesco: 
We closed our stores and 
took the competition by 
surprise with the launch of a 
major price-cutting initiative 
called ‘Checkout at Tesco’. 
Our simple, low prices were 
an overnight success.

2018

Jack is back:
We unveiled a new brand 
and stores, inspired by and 
named after Jack Cohen. 

Jack’s brings customers 

great-tasting food 
at the lowest 
possible prices.

2019

Our centenary:
We celebrate one hundred  
years of great value. 

Life in Britain has changed a lot since 
Jack made his first sale but today, serving 
shoppers better still starts with selling 
great quality food at affordable prices. 
In our centenary year, we’re doing that in 
more ways than ever with exceptional 
deals that take customers back. 

1990s

The game changers: 
We launched our iconic ‘Every Little 
Helps’ strapline, in a decade full of little 
helps for our customers – from the 
introduction of Clubcard, to the launch 
of our first Express and Extra stores, 
making it even more convenient for 
customers to shop with us.

We also launched our Tesco Value 
range, offering our customers a wider 
choice of products at great prices.

2000s

More	ways	to	shop:	
By 2000, technology had moved on a lot 
since our first home delivery in 1984 
– and so had our business. We launched 
Tesco.com, which today serves millions 
of customers every month. 

In the same decade, we also launched 
our F&F clothing brand and Tesco Bank.

About Tesco

We’re passionate  
about serving 
shoppers a 
little better 
every day, in 
store and online.

Group sales
£56,883m

UK & ROI
Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank

79%
11%
8%
2%

(a)  Excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items.

10

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

UK & ROI.
Our UK & ROI business is the largest 
in the Group. With a leading market 
position, we operate Tesco stores 
from convenience formats through 
to larger stores – as well as our 
wholesale business, Booker. 

Our footprint

3,787 stores

Colleagues

around 
340,000

Operating profit(a)

£1,537m

Central Europe.
We are present in four Central 
European countries, with 
hypermarkets and convenience 
stores in the Czech Republic, 
Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

Asia.
Our Asia business has operations in 
Thailand, where we operate 
hypermarkets and convenience 
stores under the Tesco Lotus brand, 
and in Malaysia. 

Tesco Bank.
Tesco Bank is based in the UK, and 
aims to be the bank for people who 
shop at Tesco, providing simple and 
convenient retail banking and 
insurance products. 

Our footprint

895 stores

Our footprint

2,038 stores

Colleagues

around 
50,000

Operating profit(a)

£186m

Colleagues

around 
60,000

Operating profit(a)

£286m

Our footprint

6 million 
customer 
accounts

Colleagues

around
4,000

Operating profit(a)

£197m

11

Strategic reportOur business model

A best in class retailer.

Our differentiating 
capabilities.

Touch every part  
of our business.

Customers 
Tesco exists to serve 
customers – listening to them 
and acting on what is most 
important, however they 
choose to shop with us. 

Reinvest 
Our focus is always on making 
Tesco the best it can be for 
our customers. The better a 
job we do for customers, the 
more we will improve sales; 
the more our sales improve, 
the more we can reinvest 
in further improving 
the shopping trip.

Channels
To bring the best products  
to customers, we work 
through a range of channels 
– from small shops to large 
shops, and our online 
business. Booker gives us 
access to further channels, 
including Business Centres 
and delivered wholesale.

Products
We build close and  
mutually-beneficial 
relationships with  
our supplier partners, to 
source the best possible 
products that meet  
and anticipate 
customers’ needs.

Understanding customers.
Customers are at the heart of 
everything we do, and every 
decision we make. 

From customer tasting panels 
as we develop new products, 
through to the insight we get 
from Clubcard, we use our 
expertise to understand and 
meet our customers’ needs 
better than anybody else. 
Our colleagues.
We are a business that’s about 
serving people. We are at our 
best for customers when every 
one of our 450,000 colleagues 
is focused on delivering great 
service – and we share a single 
purpose: to serve shoppers a 
little better every day. 
Scale and reach.
We have an unparalleled reach, 
through our store network and 
our Grocery Home Shopping 
service – as well as Booker’s 
Business Centres and delivered 
wholesale network – allowing us 
to bring great quality products 
to even more customers.
Own Brand and Product.
We put great care into sourcing 
the best quality products, with 
expert technical teams and close 
partnerships with growers and 
suppliers – supported by a family 
of unique brands, from Finest* 
to Free From. 
Services.
Through Tesco Bank and Tesco 
Mobile, we can bring new 
services to customers and 
earn their loyalty.
Innovation.
From recipe development and 
reformulation, to new technology 
and systems, we encourage a 
culture of innovation so that our 
business remains at the cutting 
edge of new trends and demands.

12

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Our business model

A best in class retailer.

To create value for  
our stakeholders.

Value for customers.
Our business model allows us 
to bring our customers the 
very best products at the best 
possible prices, however they 
choose to shop with us.

As our business continues to 
strengthen, we can reinvest in 
our competitiveness and 
further improve the 
experience for customers.

Value for colleagues.
The expertise of our 
colleagues drives every part 
of our business model – from 
our store teams serving 
shoppers, to our Product 
teams developing new ranges.

We want every colleague in 
our business to understand 
the part they play in serving 
shoppers a little better 
every day. 

Customers liking 
‘Exclusively at Tesco’ 
products they’ve tried

93% 

Colleagues motivated 
by our purpose

80% 

Value for suppliers.
Our conversations with 
suppliers focus on delivering 
great value, great quality 
products for our customers.

When we get it right, our 
business grows, and our 
suppliers grow with us.

Together with Booker, 
our combined growth is a 
market-leading opportunity 
for suppliers.

Value for shareholders.
For shareholders, our 
business model allows us 
to deliver sustainable, 
profitable growth.

Our underlying philosophy to 
create value for shareholders 
puts a focus on customer 
satisfaction, cash profitability, 
earnings growth and free 
cash flow.

Annual quantum sales 
growth: Tesco UK and 
Booker

Diluted EPS before 
exceptional and 
other items(a)

over £1bn

15.4p 

(a)  Diluted EPS before exceptional and other items refers to diluted 

earnings per share from continuing operations before exceptional 
items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, net pension finance 
costs and fair value remeasurements on financial instruments, as 
defined in the APM section of the Glossary on pages 178 to 181.

13

Strategic reportOur six strategic drivers

An update on our six 
strategic drivers.

1. 

A differentiated brand

2. 

Reduce operating costs  
by £1.5bn

3. 

Generate £9bn cash  
from operations

A strong and differentiated brand creates 
long-term value for every stakeholder in 
our business. Our purpose, to serve 
shoppers a little better every day, is at 
the heart of what our brand stands for.

As we celebrate our centenary year, 
we are looking back to the ethos of our 
founder, Jack Cohen, and what made 
Tesco unique: his unwavering, simple 
commitment to great value.

That same commitment remains true 
today, and throughout 2019 we are doing 
that in more ways than ever before, with 
exceptional deals that take customers 
back, through our ‘One Hundred Years of 
Great Value’ campaign.

This year we have made further progress 
in our relaunch of more than 10,000 Own 
Brand products – the largest launch of its 
kind in our 100-year history – bringing our 
customers great quality products at the 
very best prices.

We have also continued our award-
winning Food Love Stories campaign, 
highlighting the quality of our food and 
showcasing the care that goes into every 
one of our products.

Encouragingly, customers and 
stakeholders continue to recognise our 
efforts, and this year our YouGov 
BrandIndex score reached its highest 
rating since October 2011. 

To ensure that our business remains 
sustainable for the long term, we continue 
to simplify the way we operate and reduce 
our costs.

We delivered in-year cost savings of 
£532m, with £1.4bn of savings to date 
towards our £1.5bn ambition.

Reducing our costs is particularly 
important as we face into challenging 
conditions in each of our markets across 
the Group, so that we can be even more 
competitive, and offer customers the 
value, quality and service that they expect.

We are simplifying our store operations, 
improving stock flow, and further 
improving our forecasting to reduce 
waste. In our Express stores, we have 
optimised our distribution and 
replenishment by adjusting case sizes, 
reducing handling and transport costs.

We have also taken the difficult decision 
to close around 90 of our fresh food 
counters in the UK, with the remaining 
700 trading with either a full or flexible 
offer. This reflects changes to the way 
customers shop in these stores, and 
will allow us to operate more sustainably 
for the long term.

In Central Europe, we have reduced costs 
by simplifying work for colleagues in stores 
– for example by reducing the number of 
price changes by almost a third.

We maintain a strategic focus on 
generating free cash flow, and this year 
generated £2.5bn of retail operating cash, 
driven by improved profitability. Strong  
working capital management is also a key 
component of our cash generation.

Retail operating cash flow for this year 
is reported after a c.£(490)m working 
capital timing impact year-on-year. 

This includes a year-on-year timing impact 
of £(278)m relating to delayed payments 
following the failure of a key supplier, 
Palmer & Harvey, at the end of the last 
financial year. 

A further £(210)m impact relates to 
decisions made in the second half of the 
year. Most significantly, the delayed 
implementation of a new general ledger 
system in the UK & ROI postponed the 
collection of some receivables into the 
beginning of the 2019/20 financial year. In 
addition, a focus on safeguarding availability 
and service levels for customers at a time 
of political uncertainty meant we 
deprioritised certain ongoing working 
capital initiatives. 

Over the last three years we have 
generated £8.6bn of retail operating cash.

14

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

4. 

Maximise the mix to 
achieve a 3.5% – 4.0% 
margin

5. 

Maximise value  
from property

6. 

Innovation

Across the Group, we are working on mix 
– making our business more sustainable, 
and stepping back from unprofitable sales. 
Group operating margin for the year was 
3.45%, up 59 basis points. In the second 
half of the year, on the same basis as our 
ambition (excluding Booker), Group 
operating margin was 3.79%.

We have taken some significant decisions 
to strengthen our mix, including the 
closure of our loss-making general 
merchandise website, Tesco Direct, 
where we saw no route to profitability. 

In Central Europe, we remain focused 
on building a more sustainable business. 
In Poland, we closed 62 unprofitable 
stores in the year, and we are reducing 
the costs of operating our business as we 
focus on profitable sales. We have also 
introduced more than 600 ‘Star Lines’ 
for customers across our four Central 
European markets, giving more space on 
the shelf to the most popular products, 
at sharper prices.

In Asia, we have repositioned our 
customer offer in Thailand, with significant 
changes to our sales mix and promotional 
strategy, as well as accelerating changes 
to our operating model, which are helping 
to underpin our profit recovery. 

We will continue to look at opportunities 
to improve our mix, allowing us to become 
more competitive for customers, and to 
deliver strong, sustainable returns for 
shareholders.

This year we released a further £285m of 
value from our property portfolio across 
the Group.

In the UK, we are continuing to explore 
a small number of opportunities to work 
with a third-party to redevelop our 
store sites in high-value locations.

For example, this year, working with a 
selected development partner, we have 
created a plan which will transform our 
store in Kennington, London. As well as 
making better use of the space to create 
hundreds of new homes, the project will 
also deliver a brand new Tesco store, 
further commercial space and will open 
up the site, bringing communities in the 
local area closer together. 

We continue to repurpose space in some 
of our larger stores, introducing third-
party concessions from popular brands, 
as well as services like barbers.

In Central Europe, we have simplified 
our property portfolio as we exit our 
department store format. We have 
also repurposed space in 14 of our 
hypermarkets, and introduced 22 new 
anchor tenants into our malls.

We completed three property buybacks in 
the year in the UK, and our proportion of 
freehold property across the Group has 
remained stable year-on-year at 58%.

A continuous pipeline of innovation 
ensures that we can keep serving 
shoppers better – anticipating and 
responding to their needs better 
than anybody else.

Creating a culture of innovation across 
our business remains a priority and, to 
support this, we opened a new facility this 
year at our Welwyn Garden City campus. 
The ‘Heart’ building brings together our 
capabilities in product development, 
customer insight, colleague learning and 
retail technology – including a state of the 
art Express store, and kitchens where our 
colleagues and supplier partners can 
develop new products together.

We’re also innovating to make our 
products healthier, and more sustainable. 
When we reformulate products, wherever 
possible we make them healthier, without 
compromising on taste. This year we have 
added extra fibre to chilled breads and 
savouries, and reduced the sugar in our 
core Own Brand baked beans by 20%. 
We’ve launched new packaging to 
reduce our impact on the environment 
and prevent waste, like our avocado 
packs, which now stay fresher for 
two days longer.

As the way people shop continues to 
change, we are also innovating in the way 
we serve them. We’ve launched a new 
brand in the UK – Jack’s – as part of our 
centenary celebrations. In Thailand, we 
have also launched a new convenience 
proposition, to better meet our 
customers’ needs.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

15

Strategic reportOur key performance indicators

Our Big 6 KPIs.

We have six simple key performance measures for the whole business.
Grow sales.
Why it’s important.
Sustainable growth in sales is important 
to our business model. A strong, growing 
business also creates opportunities for 
our suppliers to grow with us too.
What we measure.
Group sales is a measure of revenue 
excluding sales made at petrol filling 
stations. It demonstrates the Group’s 
underlying performance in the core 
retail and financial services businesses 
by removing the volatilities associated 
with the movement in fuel prices.

How we performed.
Group sales grew by 11.3% at constant 
exchange rates to £56.9bn, and this 
year was our third consecutive year 
of sales growth.

Booker was consolidated into the Group 
for 51 weeks from 5 March, contributing 
11.4% to Group sales growth.

£
4
9
.
9
b
n

Group salesΔ
£56.9bn up 11.3%(a)

£
5
6
.
9
b
n

£
5
1
.
0
b
n

Deliver profit.
Why it’s important.
Recovering our profitability has been key 
to our turnaround, building a platform for 
long-term growth and creating value for 
all stakeholders.
What we measure.
Group operating profit, before 
exceptional items and amortisation of 
acquired intangibles. It is the headline 
measure of the Group’s performance.

How we performed.
Group operating profit before exceptional 
items and amortisation of acquired 
intangibles was £2,206m, up 33.5% at 
constant exchange rates.

We have reduced our operating costs, 
and continued our focus on delivering 
profitable growth and improving the 
quality of our sales.

Improve operating cash flow.
Why it’s important.
Strong cash generation is an important 
part of our underlying philosophy as we 
manage our business.
What we measure.
Retail operating cash flow is the cash 
generated from operations of continuing 
operations, excluding the effects of 
Tesco Bank’s cash flows. It is a measure 
of the cash generation and working 
capital efficiency by the Retail business, 
recognising that Tesco Bank is run and 
regulated independently from the Retail 
operations.

How we performed.
We generated retail operating cash of 
£2,502m, down (9.8)%. This is reported 
after a c.£(490)m working capital timing 
impact year-on-year, including a timing 
impact of £(278)m following the failure of a 
key supplier, Palmer & Harvey, at the end 
of the last financial year. A further £(210)m 
impact relates most significantly to the 
delay of the implementation of a new 
general ledger system in the UK & ROI, and 
additionally the deprioritisation of some 
ongoing working capital initiatives at a time 
of political uncertainty.

2016/17

2017/18*

2018/19

Group operating profit before 
exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangiblesΔ 
£2,206m, up 33.5%(a)

£
2
,
2
0
6
m

£
1
,
6
4
6
m

£
1
,
2
8
0
m

2016/17

2017/18*

2018/19

Retail operating cash flowΔ
£2,502m,	down	(9.8)%(b)

£
2
,
7
7
3
m

£
2
,
5
0
2
m

£
2
,
2
7
8
m

2016/17

2017/18*

2018/19

16

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Customers recommend us and come back time and again.
Why it’s important.
Customers are at the heart of everything 
we do, and customer satisfaction is an 
important driver of loyalty.
What we measure.
Reflects % of Fans minus Critics answering 
the question “Based on your visit, how 
likely is it that you would recommend the 
following to a friend or colleague?”.

How we performed.
Our net promoter score for the Group 
continues to increase. 

This year our score increased by 5 points 
to 17 points, with more customers 
recommending Tesco as a place to shop.

Colleagues recommend us as a great place to work and shop.(c)
Why it’s important.
When we get things right for our 450,000 
colleagues, we make it even easier for 
them to do what they do best – serving 
shoppers a little better every day.
What we measure.
Our ‘Great place to work’ measure is 
the percentage of colleagues who agree 
or strongly agree with the statement 
‘I would recommend Tesco as a great 
place to work’.

How we performed.
Our ‘Great place to work’ measure 
has remained stable year-on-year at 
83%, with most colleagues in every 
one of our markets agreeing that they 
would recommend Tesco as a great 
place to work.

Year-on-year, more colleagues are 
recommending Tesco as a place to shop.

‘Great place to shop’ is a net promoter 
score, answering the question ‘I would 
recommend Tesco as a place to shop’. 

Build trusted partnerships.
Why it’s important.
Close and trusted partnerships with our 
suppliers allow us to source the best 
quality products for our customers, 
at the best prices. 
What we measure.
Our supplier satisfaction measure reflects 
the percentage of suppliers across the 
Group who responded positively when 
asked “Overall how satisfied are you with 
your experience of working with Tesco?”, 
in our Supplier Viewpoint survey.

How we performed.
Overall supplier satisfaction was 77.5%, 
up 2.6pts, the highest ever score 
recorded for the Group. 

Through the year, the majority of our 
individual measures on ways of working 
with suppliers also improved, with 
particularly strong improvements in 
supplier ratings of communication 
and feeling listened to. 

Group net promoter score
17pts, up 5pts

1
7
p
t
s

1
2
p
t
s

7
p
t
s

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Great place to  
shop 50pts, up 1pt
Great place to  
work 83%

8
3
%

8
3
%

8
3
%

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Group supplier satisfaction
77.5%, up 2.6pts

7
6
.
5
%

7
4
.
9
%

7
7
.
5
%

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Δ	 Alternative	performance	measures	(APM)

Measures with this symbol Δ are defined in the Glossary section on pages 178 to 181.

(a)  Reported on a continuing operations basis (excludes Turkey). Growth is at constant exchange rates, on a comparable days basis.
(b)  Reported on a continuing operations basis (excludes Turkey). Growth is at actual exchange rates.
(c)  Chart shows the movement in ‘Great place to work’.
*  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15. For more information see Note 1 and Note 36 on pages 98 and 155.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

17

Strategic reportFinancial review

Sustained strong 
performance.

“We have met or are about 
to meet the vast majority 
of our turnaround goals. 
The second half margin 
level puts us well within 
the aspirational range 
we set four years ago.”

Alan Stewart
Chief Financial Officer

Group results 2018/19.

52 weeks ended  
23 February 2019 

On a continuing  
operations basis

Group sales  
(exc. VAT, exc. fuel)(b)
Fuel

Revenue  
(exc. VAT, inc. fuel)
Group operating profit(c)
UK & ROI
Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank
Include exceptional items 
and amortisation of 
acquired intangibles
Group statutory 
operating profit
Group profit before tax 
before exceptional items, 
amortisation of acquired 
intangibles, net pension 
finance costs and fair 
value remeasurements 
of financial instruments

Group statutory  
profit before tax
Diluted EPS before 
exceptional items, 
amortisation of acquired 
intangibles, net pension 
finance costs and fair 
value remeasurements 
of financial instruments
Statutory diluted EPS
Statutory basic EPS

Dividend per share
Capex(d)
Net debt(e)(f)
Cash generated from 
retail operations(e)

Year-on-year 
change
(Constant 
exchange 
rates)

Year-on-year 
change
(Actual 
exchange 
rates)

2018/19

2017/18 
(restated)(a)

£56,883m £50,993m

£7,028m £6,500m

£63,911m £57,493m

£2,206m £1,646m

£1,537m £1,059m

£186m

£286m

£197m

£119m

£299m

£169m

£(53)m

£193m

11.3%

8.1%

11.0%

33.5%

45.0%

56.3%

(6.7)%

16.6%

11.5%

8.1%

11.2%

34.0%

45.1%

56.3%

(4.3)%

16.6%

£2,153m £1,839m

16.7%

17.1%

52.5%

28.8%

29.4%

92.3%

£1,958m £1,284m

£1,674m £1,300m

15.40p

13.55p

13.65p

5.77p

£1.1bn

11.90p

12.11p

12.15p

3.00p

£1.1bn

£(2.9)bn

£(2.6)bn

£2.5bn

£2.8bn

This year, we have made broad-based progress across the Group 
including a further strong increase in profitability. We grew sales by 
11.5%, excluding VAT, excluding fuel, at actual exchange rates and 
have now delivered three full years of sales growth. Results this 
year include the consolidation of Booker for 51 weeks since our 
merger completed on 5 March 2018.

Group operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangibles was up 34.0% to £2,206m, as we continue 
to simplify the business and reduce costs, and we achieved a 
second half operating margin of 3.96% (3.79% excluding Booker). 
Our statutory profit before tax increased to £2,153m including  
£(53)m of exceptional items and amortisation of acquired 
intangibles. We delivered a strong performance on net debt 
(excluding Tesco Bank) which was £(2.9)bn, after £(766)m of 
Booker cash consideration.

We are continuing to focus on customer satisfaction, cash 
profitability, free cash flow and earnings growth and are using 
these measures to inform our decisions as we look to create 
sustainable value for shareholders.

Reflecting our continued improved performance and confidence in 
ongoing cash generation, the Board has proposed the payment of 
a 4.10 pence per share final dividend following on from the interim 
dividend of 1.67 pence per share. This takes the total dividend for 
the year to 5.77 pence per share, up 92.3% year on year.
Segmental results.
UK & ROI.

On a continuing 
operations basis

Sales  
(exc. VAT, exc. fuel)
Like-for-like sales  
(exc. VAT, exc. fuel)

Statutory revenue 
(exc. VAT, inc. fuel)
Revenue includes: fuel

Operating profit 
before exceptional 
items(c)
Operating profit 
margin before 
exceptional items(c)

Statutory operating 
profit

Year-on-year 
change
(Constant 
exchange 
rates)

Year-on-year 
change
(Actual 
exchange 
rates)

2018/19

2017/18

£44,883m £38,656m

16.1%

16.1%

2.9%

2.3%

£51,643m £44,914m

£6,760m

£6,258m

£1,537m

£1,059m

45.0%

45.1%

2.98%

2.36%

62bps

62bps

£1,535m

£1,205m

In the UK and the Republic of Ireland (ROI), like-for-like sales grew 
by 2.9%, representing the third full year of growth. Tesco UK 
like-for-like sales grew by 1.7% as we improved both our quality and 
value perception. We have completed the rollout of our range of 
eight new ‘Exclusively at Tesco’ brands, such as ‘Ms Molly’s’ and 
‘Hearty Food Co.’, as part of the overall relaunch of 10,000 
Own Brand products. In the third quarter, as expected, we saw an 
increase in customers trading into the outstanding value offered 
by these products. The continuing success of ‘Exclusively at 

(a)  Last year figures restated for impact of IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from contracts with 
customers’. Impacts include a £2m increase in revenue and operating profit.

(e)  Net debt, retail operating cash flow and retail free cash flow exclude the impact of 
Tesco Bank in order to provide further analysis of the retail cash flow statement.

(b)  Group sales exclude VAT and fuel. Sales growth shown on a comparable days basis.
(c)  Excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles and excludes exceptional items by virtue of their 

size and nature in order to reflect management’s view of underlying performance.

(d)  Capex is shown excluding property buybacks. Statutory capital expenditure 

(including property buybacks) was £1.2bn (2017/18: £1.5bn).

(f)  Net debt includes both continuing and discontinued operations.

The definition and purpose of the Group’s alternative performance measures, which 
includes like-for-like sales, are defined on pages 178 to 181. A detailed analysis of 
discontinued operations can be found in Note 7.

18

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

 
 
Tesco’ contributed to our overall UK market sales and volume 
outperformance during the fourth quarter.

In general merchandise, we continue to focus on sustainable 
categories that complement the grocery shop. We are driving 
growth in those categories by differentiating our offer. For 
example, our Fox & Ivy and Go Cook ranges contributed to 
like-for-like sales growth of 4.2% in our Home category. Our 
clothing like-for-like sales grew by 3.0% and in February 2019 
we launched selected F&F Womenswear items on Next.co.uk. 
We closed Tesco Direct from 9 July, with our like-for-like sales 
performance removing the impact of this closure.

All store formats and channels delivered like-for-like sales 
growth, with particularly strong performance in our convenience 
business, including One Stop, where we launched a further 100 
Own Brand products, offering excellent quality and value to 
customers. Our online grocery sales grew by 2.8% year-on-year 
including our biggest ever sales week at Christmas with nearly 
51 million items delivered and 776,000 orders. We have seen a 
strong response to the launch of Jack’s – our new brand and store 
format – with a net promoter score of 53% and very high levels of 
customer awareness.

Booker’s like-for-like sales grew by 11.1% (10.8% excluding tobacco) 
during the year, including a strong performance from symbol group 
stores. Sales growth in the fourth quarter eased as we started 
to annualise contract wins secured in the prior year. We are 
continuing to unlock the benefits of Joining Forces for Booker’s 
customers, with greater choice, lower prices and better quality.

In ROI, like-for-like sales grew by 1.3%. In a competitive market, 
we have continued to make good progress during the year, 
growing volumes across all food categories. 

UK & ROI operating profit before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles was £1,537m, up 45.1%, with 
operating margin growth of 62 basis points year-on-year. During 
the year, our cost savings programme progressed well and we 
further simplified what we do and how we serve customers in 
our store operations and in head office. Our strategic ambition 
to maximise the mix led to our focus on more sustainable general 
merchandise categories, including closing Tesco Direct in July. 
The operating loss relating to Tesco Direct was £(94)m in the 
2017/18 financial year.

UK & ROI operating profit also includes a benefit of £52m 
relating to a change in Clubcard accounting estimates. The 
change follows a detailed review of our accounting treatment 
ahead of the implementation of IFRS 15 and results in a more 
precise match between the redemption value per point and 
the historic issuance value.

Booker contributed £196m to operating profit before exceptional 
items and amortisation of acquired intangibles for the 51 weeks 
consolidated since completion of our merger on 5 March 2018. 
We delivered £79m of the synergies identified in the Booker merger 
process – ahead of our initial expectation of £60m in the first year 
– and are well on track to deliver our target of c.£200m synergies 
per annum by the end of the third year. We now anticipate that 
exceptional integration costs over the three years will total  
£(50)m-£(75)m, lower than the £(145)m which had been 
originally planned.

Excluding Booker operating profit and synergies, UK & ROI operating 
profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired 
intangibles was up 19.2%, with margin expansion of 39bps.

Central Europe.
In Central Europe, overall like-for-like sales declined by (2.3)%. 
A planned reduction of unprofitable general merchandise sales, 
including a decision not to participate in Black Friday promotions, 
impacted like-for-like sales performance by (1.2)% for the full 
year. In addition, changes to Sunday trading regulations in Poland 
resulted in 25 fewer trading days in the year which, in addition to a 
public holiday announced at short notice, impacted like-for-like 
sales in the region by (1.3)%. Sunday trading regulations effective 
from January 2019 mean that our stores in Poland are now only 
able to open on the last Sunday of each month, compared with two 
Sundays per month previously. In the second half, we saw a strong 
customer response as we launched our ‘Star Lines’ initiative across 
the region, reducing the price of more than 600 key products.

On a continuing  
operations basis

Sales (exc.  
VAT, exc. fuel)
Like-for-like sales  
(exc. VAT, exc. fuel)

Statutory revenue 
(exc. VAT, inc. fuel)
Revenue includes: fuel

Operating 
profit before 
exceptional items
Operating profit 
margin before 
exceptional items

Statutory operating 
profit

Year-on-year 
change
(Constant 
exchange 
rates)

Year-on-year 
change
(Actual 
exchange 
rates)

2018/19

2017/18

£6,030m £6,343m

(4.5)%

(4.9)%

(2.3)%

0.3%

£6,298m £6,585m

£268m

£242m

£186m

£119m

56.3%

56.3%

2.95%

1.81%

113bps

115bps

£232m

£212m

Central Europe operating profit before exceptional items was 
£186m, up 56.3% year-on-year at actual exchange rates. We are 
improving the quality of our business by focusing on more sustainable 
product categories and reducing less profitable ranges, such as 
electricals. In addition, operating costs are being reduced across 
the region as we simplify the store service model, for example, 
we reduced the number of price changes by 28% in the year. 
In Poland, we closed 62 loss-making stores which contributed 
to Poland making a small profit in the second half. 
Asia.

On a continuing 
operations basis

Sales (exc.  
VAT, exc. fuel)
Like-for-like sales  
(exc. VAT, exc. fuel)

Statutory revenue 
(exc. VAT, inc. fuel)
Revenue includes: fuel

Operating 
profit before 
exceptional items 
Operating profit 
margin before 
exceptional items

Statutory operating 
profit

Year-on-year 
change
(Constant 
exchange 
rates)

Year-on-year 
change
(Actual 
exchange 
rates)

2018/19

2017/18

£4,873m

£4,947m

(4.1)%

(1.6)%

(6.2)%

(10.0)%

£4,873m

£4,947m

–

–

£286m

£299m

(6.7)%

(4.3)%

5.87%

6.04%

(17)bps

(17)bps

£219m

£277m

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

19

Strategic reportFinancial review continued

Overall like-for-like sales performance in Asia was (6.2)% for the 
year, including the impact of significant changes to our sales mix 
and promotional strategy, particularly in the first half. Like-for-like 
sales performance improved to (3.0)% in the fourth quarter. 
For the year, we saw an impact of (1.2)% from the issuance of 
government welfare cards in Thailand but this had eased by the 
end of the fourth quarter. 

Asia operating profit before exceptional items was £286m. In the 
first half, profit was impacted by the combined effect of sales 
deleverage, price investment and repositioning of promotional 
investment in Thailand. Performance improved significantly during 
the second half as we successfully concluded renegotiations with 
our suppliers and accelerated plans to restructure our store and 
office operations in Thailand. As a result, we have been able to 
recover our operating margin more fully and quickly than we had 
anticipated at the half-year stage.
Tesco Bank.

Revenue
Operating profit before  
exceptional items
Statutory operating profit
Lending to customers
Customer deposits
Net interest margin
Risk asset ratio

2018/19

2017/18

Year-on-year 
change

£1,097m

£1,047m

4.7%

£197m

£167m

£169m

£145m

£12,426m

£11,522m

£10,465m

£9,245m

3.8%

18.4%

3.9%

19.4%

16.6%

15.2%

7.8%

13.2%

(0.1)%

(1.0)%

Tesco Bank has continued to focus on delivering a positive 
experience for our banking and insurance customers. We have 
made significant improvements to the online credit card journey 
and relaunched a Banking app, making it easier for customers to 
self-serve. In a difficult and competitive insurance market, 
investment has been focused on retention of existing customers. 
Overall, active customer numbers have reduced by (1.0)% year-on-
year with growth in banking offset by a reduction in insurance.

Operating profit before exceptional items increased by 16.6% 
year-on-year to £197m, including strong retail banking performance 
with both cards and loans continuing to perform well. The insurance 
contribution has fallen year-on-year, impacted by competitive 
market conditions, albeit partly offset by a £13m one-off benefit 
relating to upfront recognition of insurance renewals following a 
Contact renewal with our third party insurance provider. Exceptional 
items of £(30)m relating to Tesco Bank include a payment of £(16)m 
in relation to a settlement agreed with the Financial Conduct 
Authority (FCA) following an online fraudulent attack on Tesco Bank 
in November 2016 and a Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) charge 
of £(16)m recognised in the year. On an underlying basis, the 
cost-to-income ratio has improved to 56.2% from 60.0%.

Lending balances rose 7.8% year-on-year to £12.4bn, comprising 
£3.8bn secured lending (up 25%) and £8.7bn unsecured lending 
(up 1.8%). The balance sheet remains strong and well positioned 
to support future lending growth from both a liquidity and capital 
perspective with a risk asset ratio of 18.4%. 

The Group has adopted IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ for the period 
ending 24 February 2019. IFRS 9 has been applied retrospectively at 
25 February 2018 by adjusting the opening balance sheet at that 
date. For Tesco Bank, the adoption of IFRS 9 has resulted in a 
decrease in opening total assets of £223m, with a related deferred 
tax asset of £57m. The overall impact on opening equity was 
therefore a reduction of £166m. 

20

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Exceptional items in operating profit.
Exceptional items are excluded from our headline performance 
measures by virtue of their size and nature in order to reflect 
management’s view of the underlying performance of the Group. 

Restructuring and redundancy costs of £(220)m relate to the 
simplification of our business and working practices across the 
Group. These include charges of £(38)m incurred as a result of 
the closure of our loss-making online general merchandise 
business, Tesco Direct.

Provision for customer redress of £(16)m relating to Tesco Bank, 
reflects additional costs in respect of PPI as a result of higher claim 
rates than previously estimated. PPI compensation claims must be 
made before the deadline of 29 August 2019.

Net restructuring and redundancy costs
Provision for customer redress
FCA obligations
Property transactions
Tesco Bank FCA charge
Booker integration costs
Release of provision relating to  
HMRC VAT appeal
Guaranteed minimum pensions (GMP) 
equalisation
Net impairment reversal of non-current 
assets and onerous lease provision
Sale of Lazada
Disposal of opticians business

Total exceptional items in statutory 
operating profit
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets

Total exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangibles in statutory 
operating profit

2018/19

£(220)m

£(16)m

£37m

£105m

£(16)m

£(15)m

£176m

£(43)m

£10m

£7m

-

£25m

£(78)m

2017/18

£(102)m

£(24)m

£25m

£79m

-

-

-

-

£53m

£124m

£38m

£193m

-

£(53)m

£193m

There is an exceptional credit of £37m in relation to the Shareholder 
Compensation Scheme which comprises a provision release of £17m 
as we have now processed all outstanding claims and an insurance 
recovery of £20m. 

Exceptional profits on property transactions of £105m have arisen 
from disposals within the UK and Central Europe.

We have incurred a charge of £(16)m relating to a settlement 
payment agreed with the FCA following an online fraudulent attack 
on Tesco Bank in November 2016.

Booker integration costs of £(15)m relate to costs incurred in 
integrating Booker within the Tesco Group, mainly focused on 
aligning distribution networks and operating platforms.

In 2017/18, we recovered £160m of VAT from HMRC following a 
favourable court ruling regarding the treatment of VAT on Clubcard 
rewards. We subsequently recognised a provision of £176m for VAT 
and interest as HMRC appealed the court decision. Following 
HMRC’s decision not to appeal a further court judgement in our 
favour in January this year, this provision has now been released.

Following a recent High Court ruling on equalisation of guaranteed 
minimum pensions (GMP), we have recognised a £(43)m non-cash 
charge in respect of the Group’s defined benefit pension liability.

Net impairment reversal of non-current assets and onerous lease 
provision totals £10m. This includes a net reversal of £69m in property, 
plant and equipment, a charge of £(14)m in software and intangible 
assets and a net charge of £(44)m in onerous property provisions.

Amortisation of acquired intangible assets is excluded from our 
headline performance measures. Our combination with Booker 
resulted in the recognition of goodwill of £3,093m and a £755m 
intangible asset, driving amortisation of acquired intangible assets 
of £(78)m for the full year. 

The net effect of exceptional items and acquired intangibles 
amortisation on operating profit during the year was £(53)m. 
This compares to a net £193m last year, which includes £124m 
profit on the sale of Lazada in June 2017.
Joint ventures and associates, interest and tax.
Joint ventures and associates.
Our share of post-tax profits from joint ventures and associates 
before exceptional items was £24m, an increase of £30m year-on-
year due to a further reduction in losses recognised in Gain Land, 
our associate in China. An exceptional gain of £11m was also 
recognised on our share of profits from a mall disposal in Gain Land.
Finance income and costs.

Interest payable on medium-term notes,  
loans and bonds 
Interest receivable on associated derivatives
Net interest on medium-term notes,  
loans and bonds
Other interest receivable and similar income
Other finance charges and interest payable
Capitalised interest

Net finance cost before exceptional charges,  
net pension finance costs and fair value 
remeasurements of financial instruments
Fair value remeasurements of financial 
instruments 
Net pension finance costs
Exceptional charge – translation of 
Korea proceeds

Net finance costs

2018/19

2017/18

£(256)m

£(363)m

£18m

£31m

£(238)m

£(332)m

£22m

£(57)m

£1m

£44m

£(70)m

£2m

£(272)m

 £(356)m

£(153)m

£(89)m

£23m

£(162)m

-

£(38)m

£(514)m

£(533)m

Net finance costs before exceptional charges, net pension finance 
costs and fair value remeasurements of financial instruments 
reduced by £84m year-on-year to £(272)m. This improvement 
was mainly driven by a lower level of gross debt. We saw a £94m 
reduction in net interest on medium-term notes, loans and bonds 
from £(332)m to £(238)m as a result of debt maturities and bond 
tenders. We undertook two bond tenders during the year which 
reduced interest payable by £34m and we expect an annualised 
benefit of £52m.

Net finance costs of £(514)m were £19m lower year-on-year. 
Within net finance costs, fair value remeasurements includes  
£(121)m relating to the premium paid on the repurchase of 
long-dated bonds. Net pension finance costs decreased by £73m 
year-on-year to £(89)m, driven by a lower opening pension deficit, 
partly offset by a higher discount rate. For 2019/20, net pension 
finance costs are expected to decrease to c.£(72)m.

Last year, an exceptional loss of £(38)m arose on the translation of 
the proceeds from the sale of our Homeplus business in Korea. This 
translation effect did not represent an economic cost to the Group.

Group tax.
Tax on Group profit before exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangibles was £(413)m.

The effective tax rate on profit before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles for the year is 24.1%. This 
tax rate is higher than the UK statutory rate, primarily due to the 
impact of the 8% supplementary tax surcharge on bank profits 
and depreciation of assets that do not qualify for tax relief.

We expect the impact of these items on the effective tax rate to 
reduce as our overall level of profitability continues to increase. 
Therefore, along with the additional impact from the UK 
corporation tax rate reducing by 2% from April 2020, we 
expect the effective tax rate to reduce to around 20% in the 
medium-term. The effective tax rate on profit before exceptional 
items for the 2019/20 financial year is expected to be around 22%.

On a statutory basis, the total tax charge is £(354)m which includes 
a £59m credit relating to exceptional items. Cash tax paid in the 
year was £370m (up £194m year-on-year) including £232m of 
corporate tax paid in the UK (up £157m year-on-year). This increase 
principally reflects our improved profitability and the benefit last 
year from utilising remaining UK tax losses.
Earnings per share (on a continuing operations basis).
Our diluted earnings per share before exceptional items, 
amortisation of acquired intangibles, net pension finance costs 
and fair value remeasurements of financial instruments was 15.40p, 
29.4% higher year-on-year principally due to our stronger profit 
performance. Statutory basic earnings per share from continuing 
operations were 13.65p, 12.3% higher year-on-year. 
Summary of total indebtedness.

Net debt (excludes Tesco Bank)
Discounted operating lease 
commitments
Pension deficit, IAS 19 basis 
(post-tax)

Total indebtedness

2018/19

2017/18

Movement

£(2,863)m £(2,625)m

£(238)m

£(6,999)m £(6,931)m

£(68)m

£(2,338)m £(2,728)m

£(12,200)m £(12,284)m

£390m

£84m

Overall, total indebtedness has decreased by £84m year-on-year. 

Retail net debt increased by £(0.2)bn to £(2.9)bn, after the cash 
outflow of £(0.8)bn relating to our combination with Booker. 
Discounted operating lease commitments increased by £(68)m, 
including the consolidation of £(0.4)bn Booker lease commitments.

On 13 September 2018, we exercised our option to buy back the 
50% equity holding in the Tesco Atrato Limited Partnership held 
by our property joint venture partner. The acquisition is scheduled 
to complete in September 2019, and will lead to a reduction in 
discounted lease commitments of £400m (undiscounted £790m), 
and consolidation of the debt held by the joint venture. 

On an IAS 19 basis, our pension deficit (net of deferred tax) has 
reduced from £2.7bn last year to £2.3bn at the end of the 
current year. The movement during the year is primarily 
attributable to continued deficit contributions in addition 
to strong asset performance.

Our key credit metrics, which are fixed charge cover and total 
indebtedness/EBITDAR, have further improved since the end 
of the last financial year, from 2.7 to 3.2 times and from 3.3 to 
2.8 times, respectively.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

21

Strategic reportFinancial review continued

Summary retail cash flow.
Retail operating cash flow of £2,502m reflects a strong underlying 
improvement in cash profitability offset by a c.£(490)m working 
capital timing impact year-on-year, driven by two factors.

First, this year’s working capital net outflow of £(312)m includes 
payments of £(139)m which were delayed from the last financial year 
following the failure of a key supplier (Palmer & Harvey). Together 
with the corresponding benefit in last year’s working capital net 
inflow, this creates a £(278)m year-on-year timing impact.

Second, a further £(210)m impact within working capital relates to 
decisions made in the second half of 2018/19. The most significant 
of these relates to a decision to delay the implementation of a new 
general ledger system in the UK & ROI by a few months, which 
resulted in some receipts being postponed into the beginning of the 
2019/20 financial year. In addition, we chose to deprioritise some 
ongoing working capital initiatives in order to safeguard availability 
and service levels for customers at a time of political uncertainty.

Operating profit before exceptional items 
and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Less: Tesco Bank operating profit before 
exceptional items

Retail operating profit from continuing 
operations before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles
Add back: Depreciation and amortisation
Other reconciling items
Pension deficit contribution
Underlying (increase)/decrease in working capital 

Retail cash generated from operations  
before exceptional items
Exceptional cash items:

Relating to prior years:
 –  Shareholder Compensation Scheme 

Payments and SFO Fine

 – Utilisation of onerous lease provisions
 – Restructuring payments
Relating to current year:
 – Restructuring payments

Other

Retail operating cash flow
Cash capex
Net interest
Tax
Property proceeds

Property purchases – store buybacks
Market purchases of shares (net of proceeds)
Acquisitions & disposals and dividends received
Add back: Booker acquisition costs (included in 
Acquisition & disposals above)(a)
Retail free cash flow(b)

2018/19

2017/18

£2,206m

£1,646m

£(197)m

£(169)m

£2,009m

£1,477m

£1,214m

£1,212m

£94m

£(266)m

£(312)m

£28m

£(245)m

£493m

£2,739m £2,965m

£(237)m

£(192)m

£(43)m

£(81)m

£(60)m

£(68)m

£15m

£(149)m

£(92)m

£(53)m

£(67)m

£169m

£2,502m

£2,773m

£(1,126)m

£(1,190)m

£(283)m

£(302)m

£285m

£(136)m

£(146)m

£(635)m

£(297)m

£(131)m

£253m

£(393)m

£11m

£362m

£747m

-

£906m

£1,388m

(a)  The cost of major acquisitions and disposals are removed from the Group’s definition 

of free cash flow. 

(b)  Retail free cash flow includes £146m market purchases of shares (net of proceeds) in 
relation to share schemes. Last year’s retail free cash flow has been restated by £11m 
to reflect this.

In addition to the working capital timing impacts, the lower level of 
retail free cash flow year-on-year principally reflects two factors. 
First, a higher tax charge as our profitability continues to improve 
and second, a net cash outflow of £(146)m relating to the market 
purchase of shares. The market purchase follows our commitment 
to offset any dilution from the issuance of new shares to satisfy 
the requirements of share schemes. We expect to utilise a similar 
amount of cash in future years in line with this commitment, with 
the exact amount dependent on performance. 

Other items include an exceptional cash outflow of £(43)m relating 
to final payments under the Shareholder Compensation Scheme 
which have now been processed.

Exceptional cash items also include the utilisation of £(81)m of our 
exceptional onerous lease provision in the year, of which £(23)m 
related to one-off costs to surrender leases and £(58)m related 
to ongoing lease agreements.

We reduced cash capital expenditure by 5.3% year-on-year to  
£(1.1)bn reflecting our disciplined approach to capital investment.

In net cash interest, the benefit of lower interest paid was partially 
offset by the timing of £55m of interest payable on our largest 
sterling-denominated bond. The timing of our year-end date has 
meant that last year’s annual coupon payment on this bond was 
made in this financial year.

Retail cash tax paid in the year was £(302)m, higher than last year 
reflecting our improved profitability and the benefit last year from 
utilising remaining UK tax losses.

We generated £285m of proceeds from property sales including 
£129m relating to Kennington and a number of small disposals in 
the UK, £92m relating to three retail sites in Central Europe and 
£58m relating to two Booker properties. We completed the 
buyback of Stroud superstore in the first half and Cirencester 
Extra and Shepton Mallet superstore in the second half.
Capital expenditure.

UK & ROI
Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank

Group

2018/19

£709m

£130m

£235m

£31m

2017/18

£676m

£133m

£239m

£50m

£1,105m

£1,098m

Capital expenditure shown in the table above reflects expenditure 
on ongoing business activities across the Group. Our capital 
expenditure for the year was £1.1bn, a similar level to last year and 
lower than we originally anticipated for this year as we continue to 
exercise discipline in our investment decisions. In the UK & ROI, 
spend was focused on maintaining and refreshing our stores, 
alongside convenience store openings in the UK. Capital spend in 
Central Europe and Asia has remained at a broadly similar level as 
last year. The focus of spend in Central Europe was on repurposing 
our existing store estate and in Asia, spend primarily related to 
our new store opening programme in Thailand. Going forward, we 
expect our annual capital expenditure to remain within a range of 
£1.1bn to £1.4bn.

Statutory capital expenditure of £1.2bn includes £136m relating to 
the three UK property buybacks.

We reduced the total amount of retailing selling space across the 
Group by just under 1.7 million square feet in the year. Across 
Central Europe and Asia, our repurposing programme has 

22

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

IFRS 16.

Tesco is introducing IFRS 16, the new financial reporting 
standard on accounting for leases, for its 2019/20 
financial year. 

IFRS 16 has no economic impact on the Group. It has no 
effect on how the business is run, nor on cash flows for 
the Group. It does however have a significant impact on 
the way the assets, liabilities and the income statement 
for the Group are presented, as well as the classification 
of cash flows relating to lease contracts. 

The Group will adopt the standard fully retrospectively. 
Detail on the impact of IFRS 16 on our 2018/19 financial 
statements can be found in Note 36. 

The introduction of IFRS 16 has no bearing on the plans 
or financial ambitions Tesco has shared with the market. 

We are continuing to focus on customer satisfaction, cash 
profitability, free cash flow and earnings growth and are using 
these measures to inform our decisions as we look to create 
sustainable value for shareholders.

As a result of the progress we are making strengthening the 
balance sheet and delivering free cash flow, we now expect to 
reach a dividend cover level of around two times earnings in the 
2019/20 financial year. We will maintain our focus on balance 
sheet strength, targeting a leverage range of 3 times to 2.5 times 
total indebtedness to EBITDAR (on a post-IFRS 16 basis).

Alan Stewart
Chief Financial Officer

contributed a net reduction of 1.0 million square feet. In Central 
Europe, we have repurposed 669,000 square feet across 14 stores, 
partnering with H&M, Reserved, Decathlon and Rossman. In Asia, 
we have repurposed 26 stores, mainly in Thailand where we have 
partnered with Mr.DIY home improvement and additional leisure 
partners including cinemas and play centres.

In the UK & ROI, we opened 24 new stores in the period, including 
13 in our convenience formats in the UK and eight Jack’s stores. 
We closed a further 20 stores in the UK, including two Booker 
stores. Our net reduction of 66 stores in Central Europe during 
the year was driven primarily by the closure of 62 stores in Poland. 
In Asia, we opened 72 stores including 70 in Thailand, principally in 
our convenience format. We closed a further 56 stores in Thailand 
as we optimise our convenience store network. 
Property.
The estimated market value of our fully owned property has 
increased by £0.6bn to £21.3bn, with £0.2bn of this increase 
resulting from our merger with Booker. The market value of £21.3bn 
represents a surplus of £2.7bn over the net book value (NBV). 

Our Group freehold property ownership percentage, by value, has 
remained stable at 58% year-on-year. In addition to an increase in 
market value of existing properties, we regained ownership of three 
stores in the UK. This was offset by the impact of consolidating 
Booker’s 183 leasehold properties. The repurchase of the three UK 
stores will result in an annualised rental saving of £7m. We continue 
to seek opportunities to further reduce our exposure to index-linked 
and fixed-uplift rent inflation where the economics are attractive.
Dividend.
Reflecting the continued improvement in the business and our 
confidence in ongoing cash generation, we propose to pay a final 
dividend of 4.10 pence per ordinary share. This takes the total 
dividend for the year to 5.77 pence per ordinary share, up 92.3% 
year-on-year, following the payment of an interim dividend of 1.67 
pence per ordinary share in November 2018. 

We now expect to reach a dividend cover level of around two times 
earnings (on a post-IFRS 16 basis) in the 2019/20 financial year. We 
would then expect to maintain this level going forward, expressed 
as an earnings pay-out ratio of around 50%, with an anticipated 
split of broadly one-third to two-thirds between interim and final 
dividends in any given year.

The proposed final dividend was approved by the Board of Directors 
on 9 April 2019 and is subject to the approval of shareholders at the 
Annual General Meeting to be held on 13 June 2019. The final 
dividend will be paid on 21 June 2019 to shareholders who are on 
the register of members at close of business on 17 May 2019 (the 
Record Date). Shareholders may elect to reinvest their dividend in 
the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP). The last date for receipt of 
DRIP elections and revocations will be 31 May 2019.
Looking ahead.
We are confident that we will meet the remaining goals in our 
turnaround plan in 2019/20 and deliver a level of profitability 
(pre-IFRS 16 and excluding Booker) within the 3.5%-4.0% 
margin range.

Whilst the market remains uncertain, our performance to 
date is strong, leaving us well positioned to invest in our 
competitiveness as we continue to celebrate 100 years of great 
value for customers. We remain comfortable with consensus 
profit expectations for 2019/20.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

23

Strategic reportLittle Helps Plan

Every little help makes 
a big difference.

Our approach.

For the past 100 years we have been a business with a strong community spirit and a desire to do the right thing. We believe we can make 
a positive contribution to our colleagues, customers and communities through small actions that can add up to make a big difference. 
One of our values, ‘Every little help makes a big difference’, inspired our Little Helps Plan, which we launched two years ago. It aims to 
pull together all of our efforts and refocus our activities on the social and environmental challenges that matter most to our customers, 
colleagues, suppliers and stakeholders.

Every week we serve nearly 80 million customers across eight countries and they tell us they want us to provide affordable, healthy, 
sustainable products. They also want us to look after our colleagues and the communities where we operate. We have listened to their 
views, and identified three pillars where we could make the biggest difference: our people, our products and our places.

Underpinning these pillars are areas where we are committed to doing the right thing. These include important issues such as health 
and safety, cyber security and anti-bribery. We call these our foundations, as they are the bedrock of a responsible business and are 
fundamental to the way we operate.

For more information on how we identified the pillars, visit: www.tescoplc.com/materiality.

People.

To help our colleagues succeed by 
providing them with the flexibility, 
skills and reward to get on.

82%
Colleagues agree that they are able 
to work flexibly around their life
17,156
Colleagues have received manager 
development training

Places.

To help our communities thrive 
by positively contributing both  
socially and economically.

29,819
Local projects or causes supported
62.7 million
Meals donated through food surplus 
redistribution programmes

Products.

To help provide affordable,  
healthy, sustainable  
products for all.

Our Products pillar covers our work  
on health, sourcing, packaging and  
food waste.

12%
Cost savings of  
our ‘helpful little 
swaps’ basket  
(UK September 
health event)
2,914
Tonnes of hard to 
recycle materials 
removed from 
Own Brand 
packaging (UK)

77.5%
Supplier  
satisfaction 
(Supplier 
View point) 

81%
Towards reaching 
our target that  
no food safe  
for human 
consumption will 
go to waste (UK)

Foundations.

Cyber security | Product safety | Health and safety | Governance and ethics | Climate change

24

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Embedding the Little Helps Plan.

Governance.

The Little Helps Plan is integral to our business strategy, helping us 
to serve our customers a little better every day and contributing 
directly to our strategic drivers.

By addressing the key issues that we know matter to our 
customers, colleagues, suppliers and stakeholders, we are able 
to bring to life the meaning behind our value ‘Every little help makes 
a big difference’ and build a differentiated brand. Our ambitious 
targets are helping to stimulate innovation within the business – for 
example driving us to expand our range of innovative plant-based 
products or encouraging us to trial cutting edge technologies to 
help our customers recycle more. The Plan is also delivering real 
reductions in operating costs, such as through our work to reduce 
our carbon footprint. Our investment in energy efficiency between 
2015/16 and 2017/18 has delivered £37m in savings to date.

To further embed the Little Helps Plan into our business and to 
measure our progress, we have introduced KPIs for each action 
set out in the Plan. We monitor these regularly to help guide our 
work. We first published progress against these in November 2018 
and a further update can be found in our full Little Helps Plan 
report. This year we have realigned when we report progress 
against the Little Helps Plan – reporting at the same time as the 
Annual Report. Going forward we will continue to publish annual 
updates alongside the Annual Report.

We have a robust governance framework in place to support us 
in delivering the Little Helps Plan and integrating it into our business 
strategy. This establishes clear responsibility and accountability for 
our performance, and ensures effective decision-making.

Implementation begins in the UK. We then share learnings 
with our international markets to enable them to develop  
country-specific plans.

Each pillar of the Plan is owned by a director within the relevant 
business function. These owners, in each country or region, are 
responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the Plan as well as 
tracking progress against the relevant KPIs. Each country or region 
has developed a three-year roadmap which is reviewed annually, 
with key priorities and deliverables set out for the year ahead.

Our Corporate Responsibility Committee (CRC) is responsible 
for ensuring the Board devotes sufficient attention to corporate 
responsibility in its widest sense. The Committee has been on 
a number of visits in 2018/19 to see how our policies and 
programmes are working on the ground. For more information 
on the Committee and its activities, see page 55.

To download the latest Little Helps Plan report,  
including progress against our KPIs, visit  
www.tescoplc.com/littlehelpsplan.

Listen to 
stakeholders and 
assess trends

Annual research 
with consumers, 
influencers, 
colleagues and 
suppliers

Review data from 
our business

Our relationships.

Identify material 
issues

Establish targets 
and measurement

Embed in 
business plans 

Monitor	 
progress

Little Helps Plan  
launched October 
2017 with three key 
pillars: People, 
Products and Places

Priority actions  
identified for 
each pillar

35 KPIs established  
and data published 
November 2018

Three-year roadmaps  
developed for  
each market

Key initiatives  
incorporated 
into annual 
business plans

Progress reviewed by 
Executive committee 
bi-annually and 
Corporate 
Responsibility 
Committee three 
times a year

We cannot achieve our ambitions alone. Our relationships with our 
suppliers and expert partners are fundamental to the success of 
both our business and our implementation of the Little Helps Plan. 
For example, our Sustainable Farming Groups are essential in 
helping to secure the future of farming and building long-term 
relationships with our farmers. This year, we have established 
a four-year strategic partnership with WWF to help us tackle 
some of the environmental challenges we cannot address alone. 
Our overall goal is to halve the environmental impact of the 
average UK shopping basket. We also continue to work with 
Cancer Research UK, Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation 
to promote healthier living to customers and colleagues.

In line with UN Global Compact guidance, we have 
identified which of the UN Sustainable Development 
Goals (SDGs) are particularly relevant to us.

See www.tescoplc.com/sdgs for more information 
on how our strategy supports the SDGs.

To download the latest Little Helps Plan report 
visit www.tescoplc.com/littlehelpsplan.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

25

Strategic reportLittle Helps Plan continued

People.

A place to get on.

Our people make our business and we ensure Tesco is a place 
where everyone can get on, whatever their ambitions.

To help our colleagues develop the skills they need to succeed, 
we offered 1,265 new UK apprenticeships last year, in areas 
such as Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) driving and food technology. 
Digital skills are increasingly important across our business, so 
we are working with the Makers Academy to offer colleagues 
opportunities to retrain as software development engineers. 
We are also training over 50 digital champions in our UK 
distribution centres to coach colleagues on practical digital skills 
and aim to start rolling this programme out to stores by the end 
of the year. 17,156 line managers have already attended our new 
manager training programme which covers how to support their 
colleagues in getting on.

We are committed to helping the next generation. Last year, over 
2,300 young people started their career or gained work experience 
with us through one of our early careers programmes. In the UK 
our Movement to Work programme has provided training and work 
placements for 629 unemployed young people and, through our 
partnership with the Prince’s Trust and IGD, we have already 
helped over 6,500 school children develop employment skills. 
Our Business Service Centre in Bengaluru, India, has helped to 
open a new Career Development Centre for young people, 
offering nine vocational courses on areas such as digital literacy.

Gender diversity split 2018/19  
(based on actual year-end headcount)
Board of Directors

Senior managers – Directors

Senior managers – Directors and managers

All employees

We want our colleagues to be at their best both at work and 
at home, so we continue to enhance our holistic health and 
wellbeing offer. We have launched more ways to get active, 
free health checks, mental health support and a new financial 
wellbeing programme.

Earlier this year we conducted the UK’s largest ever workplace 
health survey, with our charity partners Cancer Research UK, 
Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation. 8,000 colleagues 
responded to the survey and it helped us identify new ways to 
support colleagues to live healthier lives, such as introducing 
a discounted gym pass.

We want everyone to feel welcome and 84% of colleagues globally 
tell us there is an inclusive culture at Tesco. Our five established 
UK colleague networks play a big part in helping colleagues find 
support and mentoring. Our ambition for 2019/20 is to support our 
other markets to roll out networks relevant for their colleagues.

We are members of the 30% Club and 31% of our Board is female. 
In the UK, we introduced a targeted career development community, 
which supported 80 talented female colleagues to drive their own 
career, build their network and grow as authentic leaders.

We are committed to offering a fair and competitive total reward 
package and, in the last two years, have increased hourly rates for 
UK store colleagues by 10.5%. See page 65 for our gender pay analysis.

Male

9

394

2,941

199,133

69%

77%

63%

44%

Female

4

118

1,751

255,286

31%

23%

37%

56%

26

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Products.

We believe that healthy, sustainable products should be affordable 
for everyone, regardless of their budget. This ambition guides our 
actions on health, sourcing, packaging and food waste.

A healthier place to work and shop.

We have joined forces with WWF to make it easier for customers 
to buy affordable, healthy, sustainable food. Together, we will focus 
on helping customers eat more sustainably, restoring nature in 
food production and leading the food industry in eliminating food 
and packaging waste.

Seven out of ten families say supermarkets should do more to 
help people make healthier choices, such as by making healthier 
alternatives more affordable and enjoyable.

By gradually adjusting our products over a number of years, taking 
out a little fat, sugar and salt, or adding more vegetables or fibre, 
our customers can still buy their favourite foods every week while 
being a little healthier.

In the UK over a third of our frozen and chilled ready meals now 
contain at least 1 of your 5 a day. In Thailand we are the first retailer 
to bring all our Own Brand soft drinks below 6g of sugar per 100ml 
and we have removed trans fats from all Tesco bakery items.

To encourage customers to discover and try healthier alternatives 
that contain less fat, sugar or salt than standard products, we have 
now run three ‘helpful little swaps’ events in the UK.

During our September 2018 health event, a basket of ‘helpful little 
swaps’ cost 12% less than a standard basket. Sales of these 
comparable products increased by 17% year on year. This was 
our first event fronted by Jamie Oliver since he joined Tesco as a 
health ambassador. To help colleagues and customers cook from 
scratch, he also created a series of healthier recipes and tips. 
As well as being delicious, we made sure they were affordable 
by reducing the costs of the main ingredients to encourage 
people to try them.

Sourcing with care.

Food production has a significant impact on our planet’s natural 
resources. It also affects millions of livelihoods around the world. 
We want customers to feel reassured that our products have been 
sourced with respect for the environment and the people involved. 
We work in partnership with thousands of suppliers and producers 
to make sure that, as well as great quality, we offer the same 
ethical and environmental standards, across all our product ranges, 
at affordable prices.

One of the environments where we can make the biggest 
difference is forests. Global demand for food is putting significant 
pressure on these vital ecosystems. We have committed to 
achieving zero-net deforestation in our sourcing of agricultural 
raw materials by 2020. For Tesco, the most important of these 
materials is soy; a key ingredient in animal feed.

We have taken a lead in the food industry in developing and 
implementing a soy sourcing programme that will ensure in the 
future 100% of the soy our suppliers use comes from zero-net 
deforestation sources. This follows our work on palm oil where all 
of the palm oil in our UK Own Brand products is certified by the 
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. We are also working towards 
all paper/wood used in our UK Own Brand products being certified 
by the Forest Stewardship Council or Programme for the 
Endorsement of Forest Certification, or coming from a 
recycled source. We are 87% of the way there.

In December 2018, we revised our human rights strategy to allow 
us to focus on the four issues that most affect the people in our 
supply chain. Work has already begun in each of these areas:

Forced labour: Over 200 UK colleagues have received training 
to help them tackle modern day slavery risks in supply chains 
and our own operations.

Gender equality: We have signed up to the UN’s Women’s 
Empowerment Principles and our partnership with the Ethical 
Tea Partnership and UNICEF in Assam has helped equip 35,000 
adolescent girls with the knowledge and life skills to reduce their 
vulnerability to abuse and exploitation.

Sustainable livelihoods: 5 pence from every pack of Tesco Extra 
Strong tea sold is donated to run community projects in two tea 
estates in Malawi. The first beneficiaries will be 10 Village Savings 
and Loan Associations which help increase incomes through simple 
savings and loan facilities.

Worker representation: We are members of the ‘ACT’ 
agreement between global brands, retailers and trade unions 
to achieve living wages for garment workers through collective 
bargaining at industry level.

27

Strategic reportIn the past year we have donated surplus food equivalent to 
62.7 million meals, across the UK, Ireland, Central Europe and Asia 
to local charities and community groups. All Tesco stores in the UK, 
Ireland and Malaysia offer surplus food as well as 747 stores in 
Central Europe and 40 stores in Thailand. We have also introduced 
‘colleague shops’ in all our UK stores to help tackle food waste. 
Here we offer surplus food, not taken by local charities, to 
colleagues free of charge. Any remaining suitable bakery and 
produce is sent to animal feed. These combined initiatives have 
resulted in a 51% reduction in food safe for human consumption 
going to waste in the UK compared with last year.

We have a shared responsibility to tackle food waste from farm to 
fork. The solution lies in working in partnership with our suppliers 
and helping customers reduce food waste in their homes. One 
example of this is that we have removed ‘best before’ dates from 
over 180 fruit and vegetable lines to help prevent perfectly edible 
items being thrown away too early.

Little Helps Plan continued

Creating a closed loop for packaging.

To make efficient use of valuable resources, and minimise 
environmental impact, we are committed to ensuring we never 
use more packaging than is needed, and what we do use is from 
sustainable sources and can go on to be reused or recycled.

Our ambition is to create a closed loop for packaging across our UK 
operations, meaning no packaging will go to waste. To achieve this, 
government, industry and consumers all need to play a role and the 
UK recycling infrastructure has to be reformed. For our part, we 
have set three strategic priorities: simplifying materials and design 
to be fully recyclable, increasing recovery and recycling, and 
changing customer behaviour.

Alongside our aim to halve packaging weight by 2025, we have 
committed to end the use of the hardest to recycle materials from our 
Own Brand packaging by the end of 2019. Thanks to the support of our 
suppliers, we are now over 60% towards meeting our commitment.

2,914 tonnes

Hardest to recycle materials removed 
from	our	Own	Brand	packaging	(UK)

We are extending our approach and learnings to other markets. In 
Central Europe we have developed a tailored list of hard to recycle 
materials, taking into consideration local recycling infrastructure, 
and are working with suppliers there to eliminate these. In Thailand 
we have switched to recyclable thermoform plastic for our fresh 
meat and fruit-to-go products, reducing plastic waste by 12%.

We are trialling a reverse vending scheme for plastic bottles in the 
UK and in Thailand, testing different rewards – such as vouchers 
and charity donations – to encourage people to get involved. We 
also have collection points in our large UK stores where customers 
can recycle plastic bags and polyethylene films that are not always 
accepted through kerbside collections, and are trialling a collection 
scheme in 10 stores for all bags, pouches, films and crisp packets 
to test a new recycling method.

Reducing food waste.

Every year, a third of the world’s food goes to waste. As a food 
retailer, we have a responsibility to take action, which is why we have 
committed to helping halve food waste, from farm to fork, by 2030.

This is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal target 
12.3. Our Group Chief Executive, Dave Lewis, chairs a coalition of 
leaders from government, business, international organisations, 
research institutions, and civil society, called Champions 12.3, 
whose purpose is to encourage countries and food businesses 
globally to set targets, measure and publish their data, and act on 
the insights to tackle food waste.

We were the first UK retailer to publish our food waste data and 
update it every year. This was followed by our businesses in Ireland 
and Central Europe, and now Booker. 27 of our largest Own Brand 
suppliers have published data on food waste in their own operations 
and 10 of our largest branded suppliers have committed to do the 
same, as well as take concrete steps to reduce food waste in the 
supply chain and in the homes of our customers.

Our target is that no food that is safe for human consumption is 
wasted in our UK business. Over the last two years, as a result of 
our efforts, and in partnership with charities, we have reached 
81%◊(a) of this target. Food that is damaged, or fresh food that 
cannot be frozen, is excluded from the scope of our target as 
we are unable to donate it to charities.

28

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

UK.

Food surplus (food not sold 
to customers) as a percentage 
of total sales 

Total food surplus 
redistributed (tonnes)

Food surplus safe for 
human consumption sent 
for energy recovery (tonnes)

0.73%

0.78%

63%

51%

32,887

10,946

19,898

 – In 2018/19, 9,937,974 tonnes 

of food sold in the UK generated 
77,184 tonnes of surplus (0.78%)

 – 32,887 tonnes of surplus was 

redistributed through donations 
to charity, colleagues or animal 
feed, an increase of 63% 
compared with last year

20,213

7,975

337

11,901

8,071

13,871

 – 51% decrease in food safe for 
human consumption sent for 
energy recovery

9,828

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

Ireland.(b)

Food surplus (food not sold 
to customers) as a percentage 
of total sales 

Total food surplus 
redistributed (tonnes)

Food surplus safe for 
human consumption sent 
for energy recovery (tonnes)

1.41%

11%

976

1.23%

865

7%

3,597

3,349

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

Central Europe.

Food surplus (food not sold 
to customers) as a percentage 
of total sales 

Total food surplus 
redistributed (tonnes)

Food surplus safe for 
human consumption sent 
for disposal (tonnes)

1.60%

1.58%

51%

38%

20,469

13,737

11,169

 – Total food waste in 2018/19 was 
44,297◊ tonnes (0.45%◊ of sales). 
This represents a 17% decrease 
compared to last year and an 
8% decrease compared to our 
baseline year 2013/14

 – In 2018/19, 581,659 tonnes of 

food sold in Ireland generated 
7,176 tonnes of surplus (1.23%)

 – 865 tonnes of surplus was 

redistributed through donations 
to charity, a decrease of 11% 
compared with last year

 – 7% decrease in food safe for 
human consumption sent for 
energy recovery

 – Total food waste in 2018/19 was 
6,312◊ tonnes (1.09%◊ of sales). 
This represents an 8% decrease 
compared to last year and a 6% 
increase compared to our 
baseline year 2016/17

 – In 2018/19, 3,110,167 tonnes of food 
sold in Central Europe generated 
49,132 tonnes of surplus (1.58%)

 – 20,469 tonnes of surplus was 

redistributed through donations 
to charity or animal feed, an 
increase of 51% compared 
with last year

13,525

10,639

2,886

6,732

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

  Donated
  Animal feed

 Colleague shops

6,873

 – 38% decrease in food safe for 
human consumption disposed of

 – Total food waste in 2018/19 was 
28,663◊ tonnes (0.92%◊ of sales). 
This represents a 25% decrease 
compared to last year and a 47% 
decrease compared to our 
baseline year 2016/17

Booker.

Booker reported on food waste for the first time in 2018. For 2018/19, Booker’s reporting period is 51 weeks as we align our financial 
years and total food waste for this period was 2,867◊ tonnes. This is equivalent to 0.16%◊ of sales and has decreased from 0.17% last 
year. Donations to charity have increased by 52% from 383 tonnes last year to 584 tonnes in 2018/19.

For more information on food surplus and waste data from 
our Booker business, visit www.tescoplc.com/bookerfoodwaste.

Method statements for each business are available at www.tescoplc.com/foodwastefigures.

◊  KPMG LLP was engaged to provide independent limited assurance over the selected food waste data highlighted in this report with a ◊ using the assurance standard ISAE 3000. KPMG has  

issued an unqualified opinion over the selected data. KPMG’s full assurance statement is available at: www.tescoplc.com/foodwastefigures.

(a)  Based on a four-week period (February 2019).
(b)  2017/18 figures for Ireland have been restated. Please see method statement for further details at www.tescoplc.com/foodwastefigures.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

29

Strategic report 
Little Helps Plan continued

Places.

Supporting our communities.

Every week we serve nearly 80 million customers, in over 6,000 
communities around the world. We are proud of the contribution 
we make through the jobs we provide, the businesses we work 
with and the local causes we support.

In 2018 we published an independent report – Value in Your Town 
– to learn more about the socio-economic contribution we make 
to our communities in the UK and understand how we could better 
support them. In 2016/17 alone, we contributed an estimated 
£37.3bn (gross value added) to the UK economy.

We support causes and help address issues that colleagues and 
customers care about locally, such as food poverty. Wherever we 
operate, we work closely with food banks and local charities to help 
feed people in need in local communities.

To increase the impact of our food redistribution scheme in 
the UK, we have launched the Tesco Community Cookery School 
programme to help community groups make the most of the 
surplus food that they receive from Tesco. Over 1,000 cooks 
will be given training and nutritious recipes, specially designed 
by Jamie Oliver and Tesco’s food experts. We hope to expand 
the scheme to a train-the-trainer model, benefiting a further 
5,000 community cooks.

Another way we support communities is through our 
community grant programmes in the UK, Ireland 
and Central Europe.

In the UK our Bags of Help scheme redistributes money raised 
from the sale of carrier bags to fund thousands of projects in 
local communities. To date £70m has been invested in 
local communities, supporting over 23,000 projects chosen 
by customers – from improved outdoor spaces to training 
coaches or volunteers.

Similarly, our Community Fund initiative in Ireland has 
donated €3.7m to support over 13,000 selected local projects. 
For example, the Ballincollig Gymnastics Club in Cork has 
been able to buy a new fully sprung floor for the gym thanks 
to a donation from Tesco.

Since the You Choose, We Help programme began in Central 
Europe, over 3,000 community groups have benefited. To offer 
further help to our causes in Central Europe, we trialled a 
volunteering scheme with colleagues at 40 stores. The programme 
is now being rolled out across the region with colleagues being 
encouraged to volunteer, during work hours, at the local 
organisations supported through You Choose, We Help.

30

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Foundations.

Our Foundations are the things we take care of behind the scenes, 
on an ongoing basis, to make sure we remain a responsible, ethical 
business. They help us manage important evolving risks facing our 
business, from product safety to data security to health and safety. 
For information on how we are managing cyber security, product 
safety, and health and safety risks, see page 32.

Business ethics.

Our Code of Business Conduct sets down our minimum 
expectations for all colleagues, wherever they work and whatever 
their role. This includes important legal obligations and the policies 
that guide our conduct. It also lets colleagues know about 
Protector Line, a completely independent support service where 
they can raise concerns anonymously and confidentially. In October 
2018, we updated our Code of Business Conduct to reflect changes 
to the law, our business and wider society that have taken place 
since the Code was written in 2015. We also set out clearer 
expectations about the conduct expected from all colleagues 
and from managers and senior leaders. Everyone in the 
business must comply with the Code and colleagues in office 
roles, along with store and distribution managers, are required 
to make an annual declaration of compliance. In 2019, more 
than 26,000 colleagues did so.

Climate change.

We have a longstanding commitment to tackling climate change. 
We were the first FTSE 100 company to set ambitious science-
based targets to become a zero-carbon business by 2050, in line 
with the 1.5-degree trajectory of the Paris Climate Agreement. 
We have also committed to source 100% of our electricity from 
renewable sources by 2030. In 2018/19 58% of our electricity, 
across the Group, was sourced this way.

Our carbon footprint is calculated according to the Greenhouse 
Gas Protocol and our net carbon footprint in 2018/19 was 
3.3 million tonnes of CO2e. For our own operations’ absolute 
carbon emissions, we achieved a 9% reduction compared to 
last year and 31% compared to 2015/16.

We are also supporting the move to a low-carbon economy. 
In November 2018 we announced the development of the largest 
UK retail electric vehicle charging network. In conjunction with 
Volkswagen, we will roll out over 2,400 EV charging bays across 
600 Tesco stores within the next three years.

As supporters of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures 
(TCFD) we are working to consider the impacts that climate change 
may have on our business. For more information, see page 177.
Greenhouse gas emissions.

Global tonnes of CO2e(a)

Scope 1
Scope 2(b)

Market-based method 
Location-based method
Scope 1 and 2 carbon intensity 
(kg CO2e/sq ft of stores and DCs)
Scope 3
Total gross emissions
CO2e from renewable energy 
exported to the grid
Total net emissions
Overall net carbon intensity  
(total net emissions kg CO2e/sq ft 
of stores and DCs)

2018/19 

2017/18 

Base year 
2015/16

1,328,543*

1,411,758

1,388,168

1,045,760*
1,831,835*

1,202,618 2,053,703

2,137,206 2,609,983

22.72

29.57

20.83*
913,802*

1,008,992
1,129,342
3,288,104* 3,623,369 4,572,832

593*

1,134
3,287,512* 3,622,235

1,513

4,571,319

28.84*

31.48

39.27

*  KPMG LLP was engaged to provide independent limited assurance over the selected 
greenhouse gas emissions data highlighted in this report with a * using the assurance 
standards ISAE 3000 and 3410. KPMG has issued an unqualified opinion over the selected 
data. KPMG’s full assurance statement is available at: www.tescoplc.com/carbonfigures.
(a)  This year we re-baselined our carbon emissions to include Booker and Booker carbon 

emissions are included in all figures reported.

(b)  Our method statement is available at www.tescoplc.com/carbonmethod. Tesco uses 
the market-based method for calculating scope 2 emissions for our total emissions to 
account for our efforts in generating and purchasing low-carbon energy. The location-
based method is provided for disclosure only and all intensity, net and gross emissions 
shown are calculated using scope 2 market-based method.

For more information about our Foundations  
visit www.tescoplc.com/foundations.

Non-financial reporting statement.

This Little Helps Plan section of the Annual Report contains a wide range of non-financial information about employees, environmental and social matters – from 
human rights to food waste. Our full Little Helps Plan report is available on our website www.tescoplc.com/littlehelpsplan and expands on this information. As 
required under the new non-financial reporting requirements, the table below sets out where more information on non-financial matters can be found within the 
rest of the Annual Report and also on our website. The due diligence carried out for each policy is contained within each respective policy’s documentation.

Business model

Environmental matters

Employees

Social matters

Respect for human rights

Anti-corruption and anti-bribery  
matters, health and safety

Six strategic drivers 
Business model and KPIs 
Principal risks and uncertainties
Principal risks and uncertainties: Responsible sourcing and supply chain 
Principal risks and uncertainties: Political, regulatory and compliance 
Details of our approach to protecting the environment in supply chains can be found on our website
Principal risks and uncertainties: health and safety; people 
Chairman’s letter: culture, diversity and inclusion 
Directors’ report: employment policies 
Stakeholder engagement: our purpose, culture and values
Principal risks and uncertainties: Brexit 
Information about how we do business including our approach to tax can be found on our website  
Directors’ report: Groceries Supply Code of Practice
Principal risks and uncertainties: Responsible sourcing and supply chain 
Details of our policy, as well as our approach to protecting human rights, can be found on our website 
Directors’ report: Modern Slavery Act, anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters 
Our Code of Business Conduct and other related policies can be found on our website

Page

14-15 
12-17 
32-37

35 
34

35 
38 
80 
52

36 

81

35

82

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

31

Strategic report 
Principal risks and uncertainties

A robust review.

The Board considers these to be the most 
significant risks faced by the Group that 
may impact the achievement of our six 
strategic drivers.

We have an established risk management process to identify, 
assess and monitor the principal risks that we face as a business. 
We have performed a robust review of the risks that we believe 
could seriously affect the Group’s performance, future prospects, 
reputation or its ability to deliver against its priorities. This review 
included an assessment of risks we believe would threaten the 
Group’s business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity.

We have reviewed our principal risks in line with our strategic 
drivers. The risks to the business, at a high level, remain 
unchanged from the previous year. We have reframed our 
customer risk definition to better reflect current circumstances, 
set out on page 33. 

The two shorter-term risks relating to Brexit as well as Booker 
synergy realisation and integration remain relevant. The risks 
associated with Brexit are increasing due to the possibility of a 
‘no deal’ scenario and the potential for an abrupt departure from 
the EU. The Booker integration and synergy realisation risk is 
decreasing as good progress was made on the expected synergies.

The risk management process relies on our assessment of the risk 
likelihood and impact and on the development and monitoring of 
appropriate internal controls. Our process for identifying and 
managing risk is set out in more detail on page 59.

We maintain risk registers that discuss the principal risks faced by 
the Group and this is an important component of our governance 
framework and how we manage our business. As part of our risk 
management process, risks are reviewed as a top down and 
bottom up activity at the Group and the business unit level. 
The content of the risk registers are considered and discussed 
through regular meetings with senior management and reviewed 
by the Executive Committee. Each principal risk is discussed at 
least annually by the Board to provide oversight and ensure that 
they remain relevant. 

The table opposite sets out our principal risks, their link to our 
strategic drivers, their movement during the year, and a summary, 
of key controls and mitigating factors. The Board considers these 
to be the most significant Group risks that may impact the 
achievement of our six strategic drivers as set out on pages 14 
and 15. They do not comprise all of the risks associated with the 
business and are not set out in priority order. Additional risks not 
presently known to management, or currently deemed to be less 
material, may also have an adverse effect on the business. 

Strategic drivers.

A differentiated brand

Reduce operating 
costs by £1.5bn

Generate £9bn cash 
from operations

Maximise the mix to 
achieve a 3.5% – 4.0% 
margin

Maximise value 
from property

Innovation

Risks.

Customer

Tesco Bank

Transformation

Brexit

Liquidity

Booker 
synergy 
realisation and 
integration

Responsible 
sourcing and 
supply chain

Principal risks

Competition 
and markets

Brand, 
reputation 
and trust

People

Technology

Health and 
safety

Political, 
regulatory and 
compliance

Data 
security and 
data privacy

Oversight.
Board.
Overall responsibility for risk 
management, engages directly 
with risk assessment, mitigations 
and risk appetite.
Audit Committee.
Oversight of the risk 
framework and controls on 
behalf of the Board.

Group Chief Executive and 
Executive Committee. 
The Group Chief Executive has 
overall accountability for control 
and the management of risk.

Individual members, reporting to 
the Group Chief Executive, are 
 accountable for specific risks.

Group Risk and Compliance 
Committee.
Oversight of key regulatory and 
compliance risks on behalf of the 
Executive Committee, reporting 
biannually to the Audit Committee.

32

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Key risk movement.

Risk increasing

No risk movement

Risk decreasing

Link to strategic  
drivers on pages 14 and 15

Principal risk
Customer.†
Uncertainties (including Brexit and macro 
economic conditions) squeeze 
our customers’ budgets and force them 
to reappraise the concepts of value 
and loyalty in a way in which we are 
unable to respond.

Risk movement
Ongoing fragmentation of 
our customer engagement 
channels exposes us to a risk of 
diluting customer experience 
and ability to differentiate 
our brand.

Key controls and mitigating factors
We now have a more consistent approach to building impactful customer 
propositions, offering high-quality and competitive value while improving 
the customer experience. Propositions are now developed across 
channels and geographies to ensure consistency in the engagement with 
customers. Group-wide customer insight management is undertaken to 
understand and leverage customer behaviour, expectations and 
experience across the different parts of the business. We monitor the 
effectiveness of our processes by regularly tracking our business and 
competitors against measures that customers tell us are important 
to their shopping experience. We have well-established product 
development and quality management processes, which keep the 
needs of our customers central to our decision-making.

Transformation.†
Failure to achieve our transformation 
objectives due to poor prioritisation, 
ineffective change management and a 
failure to understand and deliver the 
technology required, resulting in an 
inability to progress sufficiently quickly 
to maintain or increase operating margin 
and generate sufficient cash to meet 
business objectives.

Liquidity.†
Failure of our business performance to 
deliver cash as expected; access to 
funding markets or facilities being 
restricted; failures in operational liquidity 
and currency risk management; Tesco 
Bank cash call; or adverse changes to the 
pension deficit funding requirement; 
create calls on cash higher than 
anticipated, leading to impacts on financial 
performance, cash liquidity or the ability 
to continue to fund operations.

Achieving our transformation 
goals continues to demand 
effort and investment, 
especially with regard to 
technology changes.

We have multiple transformation programmes underway to simplify our 
business with clear market strategies and business plans in place which 
evolve as priorities or situations change. We have appropriate  
executive-level oversight for all the transformation activities to ensure 
programmes are adequately resourced and milestones achieved.

We have a disciplined and 
policy-based approach to 
treasury management. 
We have reduced our debt 
levels and have improving 
debt metrics. 

We maintain an infrastructure of systems, policies and reports to ensure 
discipline and oversight on liquidity matters, including specific treasury 
and debt-related issues. Our treasury policies are communicated across 
the Group and are regularly reviewed by the Board, Executive Committee 
and management. The Group’s funding strategy is approved annually by 
the Board and includes maintaining appropriate levels of working capital, 
undrawn committed facilities and access to the capital markets. The 
Audit Committee reviews and annually approves the viability and going 
concern statements and reports into the Board. There is a long-term 
funding framework in place for the pension deficit and there is ongoing 
communication and engagement with the Pension Trustees. Liquidity 
levels and sources of cash are regularly reviewed and the Group 
maintains access to committed credit facilities and debt capital markets. 
While recognising that Tesco Bank is financially separate from Tesco PLC, 
there is ongoing monitoring of the activities of Tesco Bank that could 
give rise to risks to Tesco PLC.

Competition and markets.†
Failure to deliver an effective, coherent 
and consistent strategy to respond to our 
competitors and changes in market 
conditions in the operating environment, 
resulting in a loss of market share and 
failure to improve profitability.

We continue to face the 
ongoing challenge of a changing 
competitive landscape and 
price pressure across most 
of our markets.

Our Board develops and regularly challenges the strategic direction of 
our business to enhance our ability to remain competitive on price, range 
and service. This activity includes development of our online channels 
and multiple formats to allow us to compete in different markets. 
Our Executive Committee and operational management regularly 
review markets, trading opportunities, competitor strategy and activity. 
We engage in market scanning and competitor analysis to refine our 
customer proposition. 

† 

Indicates that the principal risk has been included as part of the longer term viability scenarios as detailed on page 37.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

33

Strategic reportPrincipal risks and uncertainties continued

Principal risk
Brand, reputation and trust.†
Failure to create brand reappraisal 
opportunities to improve quality, value 
and service perceptions thus failing to 
rebuild trust in our brand.

Risk movement
We are leveraging the Tesco 
Centenary to celebrate 
100 years of great value and 
reaffirm our position as the 
customer champion. We 
continue to implement a 
number of initiatives and 
activities, thereby helping 
reappraise the brand, increase 
trust and reputation, while 
improving our quality and value 
perception.

Key controls and mitigating factors
Maintaining a differentiated brand is one of our strategic priorities. 
Our Group processes, policies and our Code of Business Conduct sets 
out how we can make the right decisions for our customers, colleagues, 
suppliers, communities and investors. 

We continue to develop communication and engagement programmes 
to listen to our customers and stakeholders and reflect their needs in 
our plans. This includes the Supplier Viewpoint and the integration of 
local community and local marketing programmes. We continue to 
maximise the value and impact of our brand with the advice of specialist 
external agencies and in-house marketing expertise. Our Corporate 
Responsibility Committee is in place to oversee all corporate 
responsibility activities and initiatives, ensuring alignment with customer 
priorities and our brand.

Technology.
Failure of our IT infrastructure or key IT 
systems result in loss of information, 
inability to operate effectively, financial 
or regulatory penalties, and negatively 
impacts our reputation. Further, failure 
to build resilience at the time of investing 
in and implementing new technology 
may result in potential loss of 
operating capability.

Our dependency on technology 
continues to grow. Ongoing 
improvements and investment 
in disaster recovery and 
business continuity measures 
help to limit exposure to 
external threats.

A multi-year programme is underway to enhance our technology 
infrastructure and resilience capabilities. This involves significant 
investment in our hosting strategy, partnering with cloud providers 
and re-engineering some of our legacy retail systems, while building 
redundancy for key business systems.

Our technology security programme continues to build security 
capabilities to strengthen our infrastructure and Information 
Technology General Controls. 

Data security and  
data privacy.†
Failure to comply with legal or regulatory 
requirements relating to data security or 
data privacy in the course of our business 
activities, results in reputational damage, 
fines or other adverse consequences. 
This includes criminal penalties and 
consequential litigation which result in 
an adverse impact on our financial 
performance or unfavourable effects 
on our ability to do business.

As a retail organisation we hold 
a large amount of customer 
and colleague personal data, 
and the threat landscape 
has been ever growing. 
The introduction of GDPR 
in May 2018 has meant an 
increase in individuals’ 
awareness levels, as well as 
an increase in the financial 
penalties which can be levied 
by the data protection 
authorities.

We put our customers and colleagues at the heart of all decisions 
we make in relation to the processing of personal data. Our multi-year 
technology security programme has been driving the enhancement of 
our security capabilities to improve data security. 

We have an established team to detect, report and respond to security 
incidents in a timely fashion. We have a third-party supplier assurance 
programme focusing on data security and privacy risks. 

We have made significant investment across the Group to ensure 
we comply with the requirements of GDPR in Europe, and any other 
relevant legislation globally. Our privacy compliance programme, 
which includes assessment and monitoring of risk, continues to 
drive compliance throughout our global business. 

There is regular reporting on progress of the security and privacy 
programmes to governance and oversight committees.

Political, regulatory 
and compliance.†
Failure to comply with legal and other 
requirements as the regulatory 
environment becomes more restrictive, 
due to changes in the global political 
landscape, results in fines, criminal 
penalties for Tesco or colleagues, 
consequential litigation and an adverse 
impact on our reputation, financial results, 
and/or our ability to do business. 

We continue to monitor and 
improve our controls to 
ensure we comply with legal 
and regulatory requirements 
across the Group. Long-term 
changes in the global political 
environment mean that in 
some markets there is a push 
towards greater regulation of 
foreign investors and a 
favouring of local companies.

Wherever we operate, we aim to ensure that the impact of political and 
regulatory changes is incorporated in our strategic planning and policies. 
We manage regulatory risks through the use of our risk management 
framework and we have implemented compliance programmes and 
committees to manage our most important risks (e.g. anti-bribery and 
competition law). Our compliance programmes ensure that sustainable 
controls are implemented to mitigate the risk and we conduct assurance 
activities for each risk area. Our Code of Business Conduct is supported 
by new starter and annual compliance training and other tools such as 
our whistleblowing hotline. The engagement of leadership and senior 
management is critical in the successful management of this risk area 
and leaders provide clear tone from the top for colleagues.

† 

Indicates that the principal risk has been included as part of the longer term viability scenarios as detailed on page 37.

34

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

 
 
Key controls and mitigating factors
We have a business-wide, risk-based safety framework which 
defines how we implement and report on safety controls to ensure 
that colleagues, contractors and customers have a safe place to 
work and shop. Each business is required to maintain a Safety 
Improvement Plan to document and track enhancements. 
Overall governance is provided by the Group Risk and Compliance 
Committee, with each business unit operating their own Health and 
Safety Committee. Our annual colleague survey results, alongside other 
inputs such as safety audits, informs the delivery of safety initiatives and 
targeted communications. 

Talent planning and people development processes are well established 
across the Group. Talent and succession planning is discussed annually 
by the Board and three times a year at the Executive Committee and 
Nominations and Governance Committee. A Group Inclusion strategy 
is in place. An independent assessment of all promotions and external 
hires is conducted at leadership level to ensure capability, potential, 
leadership and values. The Remuneration Committee agrees objectives 
and remuneration arrangements for senior management. People risk 
mitigation plans are in place throughout the Group, supported by the 
Executive Committee. 

We have product standards, policies and guidance covering both food 
and non-food, as well as goods and services not for resale, ensuring 
that products are safe, legal and of the required quality. Measures 
include policies and guidance to help to ensure that the human rights 
of workers are respected and environmental impacts are managed 
responsibly. Refer to pages 24 to 31 for specific actions highlighted 
under our Little Helps Plan. Supplier audit programmes are in place to 
monitor product safety, traceability and integrity, human rights and 
environmental standards, including unannounced specification 
inspections of suppliers and facilities. We run colleague training 
programmes on food and product safety, responsible sourcing, 
hygiene controls, and also provide support for stores. We also provide 
targeted training for colleagues and suppliers dealing with specific 
challenges such as modern slavery. 

Principal risk
Health and safety.
Failure to meet safety standards in 
relation to our workplace, resulting 
in death or injury to our customers, 
colleagues or third parties.

Risk movement
We continue to focus our 
efforts on controls which 
ensure colleague and 
customer safety.

People.
Failure to attract and retain the required 
capability and continue to evolve our 
culture could impact delivery of our 
purpose and strategic drivers.

Market competitiveness 
continues to affect our 
ability to attract and retain 
key specialist talent. There 
is continued impact 
arising from fast-changing 
and complex legislation.

We continue to monitor and 
improve our controls to 
further reduce this risk.

Responsible sourcing  
and supply chain.
Failure to meet product safety standards 
resulting in death, injury or illness to 
customers. Failure to ensure that 
products are sourced responsibly and 
sustainably across supply chains (including 
fair pay for workers, adhering to human 
rights, clean and safe working 
environments, and that all social and 
environmental standards are met), leading 
to breaches of regulations, illness, injury 
or death to workers and communities, 
and affecting our reputation.

Booker synergy realisation 
and integration.
Failure to successfully integrate Booker is 
dependent on a number of factors, leading 
to a risk to our planned synergy 
commitments and value creation.

There has been good progress 
on the expected synergies.

A detailed synergy realisation and integration plan was successfully 
executed during the financial year. Period-end reporting and tracking 
of targeted benefits and key performance indicators is embedded.

† 

Indicates that the principal risk has been included as part of the longer term viability scenarios as detailed on page 37.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

35

Strategic reportPrincipal risks and uncertainties continued

Principal risk
Brexit.†
Failure to prepare for the UK’s departure 
from the EU will cause disruption to and 
create uncertainty around our business, not 
least our ability to recruit and supply to our 
customers. Any disruption or uncertainty 
could have an adverse effect on our 
business, financial results and operations.

Risk movement
Uncertainty around our 
departure from the EU has 
continued to grow as a result 
of the political deadlock.

Tesco Bank.
Tesco Bank is exposed to a number of 
risks, the most significant of which are 
operational risk, regulatory risk, credit 
risk, funding and liquidity risk, market 
risk and business risk.

The Bank continues to 
actively manage the risks 
to which it is exposed.

Key controls and mitigating factors
With the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU still to be 
determined, we continue to contribute to important public policy 
discussion and engage with government, regulatory bodies and 
industry. During this process, we will continue to assess and monitor 
the potential risks and impacts on Tesco customers, colleagues and 
shareholders, while taking appropriate mitigation measures to address 
challenges including logistics, staff and supply. 

This year we put in place a detailed Brexit contingency plan against 
political and macro-economic changes that could have a material 
impact on our market and customer proposition.

The Bank has a defined risk appetite, which is approved and reviewed 
regularly by both the Bank’s Board and the Tesco PLC Board. The risk 
appetite defines the type and amount of risk that the Group is prepared 
to accept to achieve its objectives, and forms a key link between the 
day-to-day risk management of the business and its strategic priorities, 
long-term plan, capital planning and liquidity management. Adherence 
to risk appetite is monitored through a series of ratios and limits. 

The Bank operates a risk management framework that is underpinned 
by governance, policies, processes and controls, reporting, assurance 
and stress testing.

There is Bank Board risk reporting throughout the year, with updates 
to the Tesco PLC Audit Committee by the Bank’s Chief Financial Officer, 
Chief Risk Officer and Audit Committee Chairman. A member of the 
Tesco PLC Board is also a member of the Bank’s Board.

† 

Indicates that the principal risk has been included as part of the longer term viability scenarios as detailed on page 37.

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
Climate change and sustainability.
The complex global challenges and uncertainties related to climate change and resource scarcity affect our business and our 
ambition of providing affordable, healthy and sustainable food. Our approach to these uncertainties is to work collaboratively 
to tackle both the risks and opportunities. Our Little Helps Plan integrates a number of initiatives across our business to manage 
some of these risks. Further details are included in the Little Helps Plan section on pages 24 to 31.

Tesco has publicly committed to implementing the recommendations (June 2017) of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial 
Disclosures (TCFD). As part of our ongoing TCFD assessment, we are using scenario analysis and looking at both short-term and 
long-term climate risks and opportunities for our UK business. Refer to page 177 for more detailed disclosures on TCFD. 

36

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

 
Longer term viability statement.
Assessing the Group’s longer term prospects and viability.
The Directors have based their assessment of viability on the 
Group’s current strategic plan, which is updated and approved 
annually by the Board and delivers the Group’s purpose of 
‘serving shoppers a little better every day’ underpinned by 
the six strategic drivers (detailed on pages 14 and 15).

The Group conducts an annual strategic planning process, 
comprising a comprehensive reassessment of progress against the 
Group’s strategic objectives alongside a careful evaluation of the 
longer term opportunities and risks in each market in which the 
Group operates. The process for assessing the principal and 
emerging risks in each market is an important input to this process.

The Group’s Strategic Planning and Viability Statement are 
both considered over a three-year period, as this horizon most 
appropriately reflects the dynamic and changing retail 
environment in which the Group operates.
Strategic planning process.
The strategic planning process builds from the Group’s current 
position and considers the evolution of the strategic objectives 
over the next three years. As part of this process, a longer-term 
assessment of the prospects of the Group is also considered.
Current position.
Significant progress has been made by the Group against the 
strategic objectives announced in October 2016, including: 

 – Broad-based progress made in key customer, supplier and 

colleague metrics;

 – Strong profit growth and free cash generation reflect the Group’s 
focus on delivering cost savings and profitable sales growth;

 – A clear strategy focusing on customer satisfaction, cash 

profitability, free cash flow and earnings growth;

 – Synergies realised from the Booker merger completed in 

March 2018 are tracking ahead of plan; and

 – The Group has operations across a diversified set of 
geographies and business areas (Retail, Banking and 
Customer Data Science).

Refer to the Group Chief Executive’s review on page 3 and the 
financial review on page 18 for further detail regarding the 
Group’s strategic and financial progress.
Longer term prospects.
The following factors are considered both in the formulation of 
the Group’s Strategic Plan, and in the longer term assessment of 
the Group’s prospects:

 – The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Group, as 

well as emerging risks as they are identified, and how these can 
be addressed;

 – The prevailing economic climate and global economy, competitor 
activity, market dynamics and changing customer behaviours;

 – The potential short and longer term economic impact of Brexit;

 – The structural challenges facing retail and how the Group can 

best position itself to address these;

 – The value opportunities presented by further cost reduction 
through operational simplification and untapped growth 
potential across the Group; and

 – The resilience afforded by the Group’s operational scale.

Assessing the Group’s viability.
The viability of the Company has been assessed, taking into account 
the Company’s current financial position, including external funding 
in place over the assessment period, and after modelling the impact 
of certain scenarios arising from the principal risks, which have the 
greatest potential impact on viability in that period.

Four scenarios have been modelled, considered severe but 
plausible, that encompass these identified risks. None of 
these scenarios individually threaten the viability of the 
Company, therefore the compound impact of these scenarios has 
been evaluated as the most severe stress scenario.

Scenario

Associated principal risks

Description

Competitive 
pressure

 – Brand, reputation 

and trust

Data security 
or regulatory 
breach

Brexit 
impact

 – Competition and 

markets
 – Customer

 – Brand, reputation 

and trust

 – Data security and 

data privacy

 – Political, regulatory 
and compliance

 – Competition and 

markets

 – Political, regulatory 
and compliance

 – Brexit

 – Transformation
 – Liquidity

Reduction in 
cost savings 
and cash 
generation

Failure to respond to fierce 
competition and changes in the 
retail market drives sustained 
significant like-for-like volume 
decline in core food categories 
with no offsetting price inflation, 
putting pressure on margins.
A serious data security or 
regulatory breach results in a 
significant monetary penalty 
and a loss of reputation among 
customers. The modelling of this 
scenario is approached through a 
‘reverse-stress test’ given the 
inherent uncertainty of value.
Assumes a no-deal Brexit scenario 
which results in an increase to cost 
of goods and overhead costs. A 
broad assessment of the potential 
impact has been modelled 
including: higher import tariffs, 
higher sourcing costs from a 
weaker sterling, higher labour costs 
and the potential cost of customs 
friction from border controls. 
Appropriate mitigation options 
open to the Group have also been 
considered within this scenario.
Failure to achieve the Group’s 
transformation objectives, 
resulting in an inability to progress 
sufficiently quickly to maintain or 
increase operating margin and 
generate sufficient cash to 
meet business objectives.

These scenarios assumed that external debt is repaid as it 
becomes due and committed facilities renewed as they become 
due. The scenarios above are hypothetical and purposefully 
severe with the aim of creating outcomes that have the ability to 
threaten the viability of the Group. In the case of these scenarios 
arising, various options are available to the Group in order to 
maintain liquidity so as to continue in operation such as:  
(i) accessing new external funding early; (ii) more radical short-term 
cost reduction actions; and (iii) reducing capital expenditure. None 
of these actions are assumed in our current scenario modelling.
Viability statement.
Based on these severe but plausible scenarios, the Directors 
have a reasonable expectation that the Company will continue 
in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the 
three-year period considered.

This Strategic report, which has been prepared in accordance with 
the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, has been approved 
and signed on behalf of the Board.

Robert Welch

Group Company Secretary 
9 April 2019

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

37

Strategic reportCorporate governance report

Chairman’s letter.

As Chairman it is my role to provide leadership of the Board to 
ensure that it is possible to make high-quality decisions and 
ensure it operates effectively. During 2018/19, the Board and each 
Committee conducted an evaluation of its performance. This was 
externally facilitated by Dr Tracy Long of Boardroom Review and 
the findings provide a clear agenda for us to continue to improve 
as a Board. The review confirmed that there is an effective 
leadership in place with all Directors adding value through the 
diversity of perspective. The Board are collectively engaged with 
the strategic process, the transformation agenda and have good 
visibility and understanding of the challenges facing the Company. 
Having assessed the findings, the Directors were satisfied that the 
Board and each of its Committees and Directors continue to 
operate effectively.

Full details of the review together with progress against the 2017/18 
review actions are set out on page 51.
Stakeholder engagement.
A key focus of the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code 
is on stakeholder engagement. This is an area where we have 
already made good progress and have strong foundations on 
which to build.

Our business was built with a simple mission – to be the champion 
for customers, helping them to enjoy a better quality of life and an 
easier way of living. This hasn’t changed. Customers want great 
products at great value which they can buy easily and it’s our job 
to deliver this in the right way for them. That is why ‘Serving 
shoppers a little better every day’ is our core purpose.

Since I joined the Board as Chairman in 2015, we have spent a 
lot of time listening to and understanding our key stakeholders: 
customers, colleagues, supplier partners and shareholders. 
Much of what we have done over the past four years has been 
driven by these insights. When discussing matters at Board 
meetings, stakeholder issues are an integral part of our  
decision-making. However, it is not practicable to please all 
stakeholders all of the time and a key part of the Board 
process is to balance the sometimes conflicting needs of our 
stakeholders to ensure all are treated consistently and fairly.

I am pleased to announce that during 2019/20 we will be 
establishing Colleague Contribution Panels across the Group, 
with the aim of further enhancing the voice of colleagues within 
the Boardroom so that better, more informed decisions are made 
in the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders. 
The panels will normally meet twice a year, with a Non-executive 
Director attending one of the meetings to engage with and listen to 
colleagues as well as share the views of the Board across a variety 
of matters. These Colleague Contribution Panels will expand on 
our existing colleague forums in the UK and Central Europe as 
well as establishing a new forum in Asia to ensure colleagues 
throughout the Group are represented. We will also engage 
with other areas of the workforce through the completion of 
questionnaires and interviews to ensure we capture the views 
of all those who work for Tesco.

More information on how we engage with our 
stakeholders can be found on pages 52 and 53 
in this Corporate governance report.

“The role of the Board is to set the 
tone from the top on the Group’s 
governance, culture and values.”

John Allan
Non-executive Chairman

Board role and effectiveness. 
During the year, we have sought to ensure that our governance 
structures at Board, Committee and subsidiary company levels 
continue to be appropriate for the businesses and the markets 
in which we operate around the world, while supporting our 
overall strategy and culture. It is important that our approach 
to governance matches our values. The Board monitors, through 
its oversight, that the Group’s values are adhered to. We care 
about our customers and endeavour to ensure we are the 
champion for customers by putting customers first and taking 
actions that make a difference. Whenever a customer chooses 
to shop at Tesco, we want their experience to be better than 
expected and better than the last – from the quality of the offer 
to the thoughtfulness of the service.

The Board has spent time in the business both collectively and 
as individuals, exploring specific business areas through 
presentations, meetings and dialogue with colleagues and our 
stakeholders. Throughout the year, the Board, supported by its 
Committees, has covered a broad range of topics to ensure that 
we continually review and challenge matters of importance to our 
stakeholders. My role as Chairman is to ensure that sufficient 
time is spent on these areas, to maintain high standards of 
corporate governance and ensure that the Board has sufficient 
information to carry out its duties. Details of the Board’s activity 
and focus during 2018/19 are set out on page 48.

38

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Compliance with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code.

The Company applied the main principles and complied 
with the relevant provisions set out in the UK Corporate 
Governance Code 2016 (2016 Code) throughout the period 
under review. Details demonstrating how the main principles 
and relevant provisions of the 2016 Code have been applied 
can be found throughout the Corporate governance report, 
the Directors’ report, each of the Board Committee reports 
and the Strategic report.

The primary responsibility of the Board in complying with the 
2016 Code is to provide effective, entrepreneurial leadership 
to ensure that it promotes the long-term success of the 
Company for the benefit of its members as a whole. 
Monitoring compliance with the 2016 Code is the responsibility 
of the Nominations and Governance Committee who receive 
regular updates and report their findings to the Board.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is responsible for 
the publication and periodic review of the UK Corporate 
Governance Code and this can be found on the FRC 
website www.frc.org.uk.

The Board is familiar with the changes following the publication 
of the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 (2018 Code) and 
intends to be compliant with all new relevant provisions in the 
timeframes dictated in the 2018 Code. The Board has carried 
out an assessment of the changes in reporting requirements 
and has decided to adopt as much as practically possible 
early as set out in this Annual Report.

Diversity and inclusion.
The Board believes that it is important to have an appropriate 
balance of skills, knowledge, experience and diversity on the Board 
and at senior management level. The Board’s skills matrix supports 
this approach by enabling us to map the broad diversity of the 
Board in regard to gender, ethnicity, geographical expertise, and 
current skills and experiences, and to link these to our strategy.

We recognise that the Board sets the tone for inclusion and 
diversity across the Group and believe we should have a diverse 
leadership team to support good decision-making. This is vital 
for bringing both the expertise required and to enable different 
perspectives to be brought to Board and Committee meetings. 
The combination of these factors means that the Board benefits 
from a diverse range of competencies and thoughts, which 
promotes a dynamic environment for decision-making.

The Board is a supporter of the Hampton-Alexander Review, and 
has set a target of having at least one-third female Directors by 
the end of 2020, and the Parker Review on ethnic diversity. 
Following the appointment of Melissa Bethell during the year, 
the Board met the Parker recommendation and the level of 
female representation increased to 31%, with the Board 
remaining mindful of its target of 33%. 

The Board recognises the need to create the conditions that foster 
talent and encourage all colleagues to achieve their full career 
potential in the Group. To this end, we are committed to providing 
an inclusive working environment where difference is embraced 
and valued, as evidenced by our commitment to the Race at Work 
Charter. We want all colleagues to be at their best and we are 
committed to ensuring that all colleagues have the opportunity 
to get on – developing the skills they need for now and the future, 
whoever they are, wherever they work and whatever they do.

We not only celebrate diversity, but embrace the value it brings 
to enable us to serve our shoppers a little better every day. 
Our goal is that everyone is treated fairly and given every 
opportunity to progress. 

In order to support our colleagues and to encourage them to 
share their knowledge and explore career sponsorship, mentoring 
and networking opportunities, we run a number of Colleague 
Networks each supported by a member of the Executive 
Committee. We have five Colleague Networks: Out at Tesco 
(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex), Black Asian 
Minority Ethnic Network, Women at Tesco Network, the Armed 
Forces Network and the Disability Network. We also work with 
the young, retired and those who have been in long-term 
unemployment through various external organisations to provide 
them with the tools and confidence needed to get back into the 
workplace and reach their full potential.

The Nominations and Governance Committee has responsibility in 
ensuring diversity and inclusion is considered at all levels and more 
details of the Committee’s work is set out on page 54.

John Allan
Chairman

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

39

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

Board of Directors.

in the UK and overseas, and has been 
responsible for a number of business 
turnarounds. He was previously a 
non-executive director of Sky PLC.
External appointments.
 – Member of the Governance Committee 
of the Consumer Goods Forum; and

 – Chair of Champions 12.3, a UN 

programme seeking to add momentum 
to the achievement of the UN 
Sustainable Development Target  
12.3 by 2030.

Alan Stewart 
Chief Financial Officer

Appointed September 2014 
Tenure 4.5 years
Skills and experience.
Alan brings to the Board significant 
corporate finance and accounting 
experience from a variety of highly 
competitive industries, including retail, 
banking and travel, as well as executive 
leadership experience within a listed 
company environment. Alan is a  
non-executive director of Tesco Bank. 
Prior to joining Tesco, he was UK CEO 
and CFO of Thomas Cook Holdings, 
group finance director of WHSmith plc 
and CFO for AWAS and Marks & Spencer 
plc. He was previously a non-executive 
director of Games Workshop Group plc.
External appointments.
 – Non-executive director of Diageo plc;

 – Member of the Advisory Board, 

Chartered Institute of Management 
Accountants; and

 – Member of the main committee and 

chairman of the pension committee of 
the 100 Group of Finance Directors.

A

i

Mark Armour 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed September 2013 
Tenure 5.5 years
Skills and experience.
Mark has significant strategic planning and 
financial expertise, as well as experience 
of executive leadership. He was CFO of 
Reed Elsevier Group plc and its two parent 
companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed 
Elsevier NV (now RELX PLC), from 1996 to 
2012. This role has provided him with 
considerable experience of digital 
business transition and operating in a 
multi-channel environment. Prior to 
joining Reed Elsevier, he was a partner 
at Price Waterhouse in London. He was 
previously a non-executive director 
and chair of the audit committee of 
SABMiller PLC.
External appointments.
 – Non-executive director of the Financial 

Reporting Council; and

 – Member of the Takeover Panel.

A

i

Melissa Bethell 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed September 2018 
Tenure < 1 year
Skills and experience.
Melissa brings to the Board a wealth of 
international business strategy and 
investment management experience. 
Melissa is currently a partner of Atairos, 
an equity investment fund backed by 
Comcast NBCUniversal. She is managing 
partner of the London office and 
responsible for Atairos’ investment 
activities in Europe. Melissa was previously 
a managing director of Bain Capital, where 
she worked for over 18 years and was a 

John Allan CBE 
Non-executive Chairman

Appointed	March	2015
Tenure 4 years
Skills and experience.
John has significant board, retail and 
financial experience gained from both the 
commercial and financial sectors. He was 
CEO of Exel PLC and, when it was acquired 
by Deutsche Post in 2005, he joined the 
board of Deutsche Post, becoming CFO 
in 2007 until his retirement in 2009. John 
was chairman of Dixons Retail plc during 
its turnaround period, and following its 
merger with Carphone Warehouse was 
deputy chairman and senior independent 
director of Dixons Carphone until 2015. 
He was also previously a non-executive 
director of Worldpay Group PLC, 
National Grid plc, the UK Home Office 
Supervisory Board, 3i plc, PHS Group plc, 
Connell plc, Royal Mail plc, Wolseley plc 
and Hamleys plc and chairman of 
London First.
External appointments.
 – Chairman of Barratt Developments PLC; 

and

 – President of the Confederation of 

British Industry.

Dave Lewis 
Group Chief Executive

Appointed September 2014 
Tenure 4.5 years 
Skills and experience.
Dave has significant experience in brand 
marketing, customer management and 
general management. Prior to joining 
Tesco, he worked for Unilever for nearly 
30 years in a variety of different roles 
across Europe, Asia and the Americas. 
He has experience across many sectors 

40

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

member of the senior leadership 
team responsible for strategy setting, 
fundraising and portfolio management. 
Prior to joining Bain Capital, Melissa 
worked in the capital markets group at 
Goldman, Sachs & Co., with a particular 
focus on media and technology. She was 
also previously a director of Ship Midco 
Limited and served as a non-executive 
director of Samsonite Corporation 
(Samsonite International S.A.), Worldpay 
Group PLC and Atento S.A.
External appointments.
 – Partner at Atairos, an independent, 

private investment firm and managing 
director of Atairos Europe; and

 – Non-executive director and chairman 
of the audit committee of Exor N.V.

A

i

Stewart Gilliland 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed	March	2018 
Tenure 1 year
Skills and experience.
Stewart has significant business and 
management experience in international 
markets, specifically those in Europe, 
having previously held roles with leading 
consumer-facing companies, including 
Whitbread, Mitchells & Butler and 
Interbrew. He held the position of chief 
executive of Müller Dairies UK and Ireland 
until 2010. Prior to joining Tesco, he was 
chairman of Booker Group plc.
External appointments.
 – Chairman of C&C Group plc; and

 – Non-executive director of Nature’s 

Way Foods Ltd.

Byron’s strategic focus and financial 
experience complements the balance of 
skills on the Board and makes him ideal for 
the role of Chair of the Audit Committee. 
He served on the BP PLC board from 2000 
until 2013 and was BP’s CFO during much 
of that period. He was previously a 
non-executive director of Unilever PLC.
External appointments.
 – Vice chairman of the Supervisory Board 

of Akzo Nobel N.V.;

 – Senior independent director of Anglo 

American PLC; and

 – Non-executive director of Standard 

Chartered PLC.

R

C

i

Mikael Olsson 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed November 2014 
Tenure 4.5 years
Skills and experience.
Mikael joined the Board after an extensive 
career at IKEA Group, holding a variety of 
senior roles including being a member of 
the executive committee from 1995 until 
2013 and holding the position of CEO and 
president from 2009 until 2013. He brings 
a wealth of retail and value chain 
experience as well as knowledge of 
sustainability, people and strategy in 
an international environment. He was 
previously a non-executive director 
and vice chairman of Volvo Cars AB.
External appointments.
 – Non-executive director of Ikano S.A.;

 – Non-executive director of 

Lindengruppen AB;

 – Non-executive director and chair of 
the people committee (combined 
nomination and remuneration 
committee) of The Royal Schiphol 
Group; and

 – Member of the nomination committee 

of Volvo Cars AB.

R

C

i

Steve Golsby 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed October 2016 
Tenure 2.5 years
Skills and experience.
Steve has a wealth of knowledge of 
operating internationally, specifically 
significant leadership experience in Asia, 
a key market for Tesco. He has a strong 
background in consumer marketing and 
held senior executive positions with 
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Unilever, 
before being appointed president of 
Mead Johnson Nutrition, a leading global 
infant nutrition company, in 2004. He was 
president and CEO from 2008 to 2013 
and a non-executive director from 2013 
to 2017. He was also previously a non-
executive director of Beam Inc. His 
extensive international and board 
experience give him invaluable insights 
and understanding as Chair of the 
Remuneration Committee.
External appointments.
 – Non-executive director of RMA Group;

 – Advisor to Thai Union Group PLC, a 

global leader in the seafood industry; 
and

 – Honorary investment advisor to the 

Thailand Board of Investment.

N

A

R

i

Byron Grote 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed	May	2015 
Tenure 4 years
Skills and experience.
Byron brings broad financial and 
international experience to the Board, 
having worked across BP PLC in a variety 
of commercial, operational and executive 
roles covering numerous geographies. 

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

41

Corporate governance 
Corporate governance report continued

N

R

C

i

A

i

Deanna Oppenheimer 
Senior Independent Director

Simon Patterson 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed	March	2012 
Tenure 7 years
Skills and experience.
Deanna has significant marketing, brand 
management and consumer knowledge 
and experience, bringing a broad 
perspective to the Board. She held several 
senior roles at Barclays plc, including 
chief executive of UK Retail and Business 
Banking and vice chair of Global Retail 
Banking. Deanna was appointed as chair 
of Hargreaves Lansdown plc in February 
2018. She is also currently a non-executive 
director of the US fresh-prepared food 
company, Joshua Green Corporation 
and is the founder of advisory firm, 
CameoWorks LLC, which provides 
bespoke support to early stage 
companies. Deanna was previously 
a non-executive director of NCR 
Corporation and Worldpay, Inc. Her 
extensive board, investor and commercial 
experience makes her a strong Senior 
Independent Director.
External appointments.
 – Chair of Hargreaves Lansdown plc;

 – Non-executive director of Whitbread 

PLC;

 – Non-executive director of Joshua 

Green Corporation;

 – Founder of consumer-focused 

boutique advisory firm, CameoWorks 
LLC; and

 – Senior advisor to Bain & Company.

Appointed April 2016 
Tenure 3 years
Skills and experience.
Simon has extensive knowledge of and 
years of experience in finance, technology 
and global operations gained in various 
management and leadership roles. He was 
a member of the founding management 
team of the logistics software company 
Global Freight Exchange and has worked 
at the Financial Times and McKinsey & 
Company. He has previously served on 
the boards of Skype, MultiPlan, Cegid 
Group, Intelsat, Gerson Lehrman Group 
and N Brown Group.
External appointments.
 – Managing director of Silver Lake 

Partners, a leading global technology 
investment firm;

 – Board member of Dell Technologies 

Inc., ZPG Limited and FlixBus;

 – Trustee of the Natural History Museum; 

and

 – Trustee of The Royal Foundation of The 
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and 
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

R

i

Alison Platt CMG 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed April 2016 
Tenure 3 years
Skills and experience.
Alison has extensive experience of 
leadership in customer-driven 
organisations across the healthcare, 
insurance and property sectors. As CEO 
of Countrywide, a position she held until 
January 2018, she gained significant 
business-to-business experience adding 
this to the international experience she 

42

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

gained whilst leading a number of Bupa’s 
businesses across Asia, Southern and 
Eastern Europe and the Middle East. 
Alison’s experience as a CEO enables her 
to provide challenge and advice to the 
Board across a range of issues. Alison was 
previously chair of Opportunity Now and a 
non-executive director of the Foreign and 
Commonwealth Office and Cable and 
Wireless Communications PLC.
External appointments.
 – Member of the steering group of the 

Hampton-Alexander Review.

C

i

Lindsey Pownall OBE 
Independent Non-executive Director

Appointed April 2016 
Tenure 3 years
Skills and experience.
Lindsey has substantial experience 
in food, grocery and retail brand 
development, having enjoyed a career 
of more than 20 years at Samworth 
Brothers, the leading UK supplier of 
premium quality chilled and ambient 
foods. She joined the Samworth board 
in 2001 and served as chief executive 
between 2011 and 2015. Lindsey is a 
passionate advocate of supplier 
relationships, customers, colleagues and 
sustainability which directly support 
Tesco’s strategy and her role as Chair of 
the Corporate Responsibility Committee.
External appointments.
 – Non-executive director of Story 

Contracting Limited and Story Homes 
Limited;

 – Operating director of Paine Schwartz 

Partners, LLC; and

 – Non-executive director of P and P Food 

Safety Holdings (Delaware) Inc.

Board profile at a glance.

Board expertise.

Board gender split.

4

9

4

8

11

Financial
Retail
Strategy
Marketing
Technology

Board tenure.

2

2

5

0 – 1 year
1 – 3 years
3 – 5 years
5 – 7 years

9

4

9
9
11
8
4

2
4
5
2

9

Male
Female

69%
31%

Board nationality.

1

1

2

9

UK
Asia
Europe
North America

9
2
1
1

Robert Welch 
Group Company Secretary

Appointed August 2016
Skills and experience.
Robert has worked as a company 
secretary for more than 25 years during 
which time he has held the positions of 
group company secretary at FirstGroup 
plc and company secretary at Kazakhmys 
PLC. Robert has also held senior positions 
at BPB plc and Kwik Save Group PLC. 

He is a member of the ICSA’s Company 
Secretaries’ Forum and the Association 
of General Counsel and Company 
Secretaries of FTSE 100 companies.

Committee membership 
(at	9	April	2019).
N Nominations and Governance 

Committee

A Audit Committee

R Remuneration Committee

C Corporate Responsibility Committee

Chair of Committee

i

Independent Board member

Directors who have served during 
the year to February 2019.
Charles Wilson resigned as a Director of 
the Board on 16 July 2018 due to ill health, 
but remains a member of the Executive 
Committee. Biographical details for the 
Executive Committee members can be 
found on pages 44 and 45.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

43

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

Executive committee.

Dave Lewis 
Group Chief Executive
Dave joined the Board and the Executive 
Committee on 1 September 2014.

His full biography appears on page 40.

Alan Stewart 
Chief Financial Officer
Alan joined the Board and the Executive 
Committee on 23 September 2014.

His full biography appears on page 40.

Alessandra Bellini 
Chief Customer Officer
Alessandra is responsible for building 
the Tesco brand globally and putting 
the customer at the heart of 
everything that we do. 

Prior to Tesco, Alessandra worked at 
Unilever for more than 21 years, latterly as 
vice president for the food category in 
North America and food general manager 
for the USA. Previously, she had a 12-year 
career in advertising, working both in Italy 
and the UK. As an international executive, 
Alessandra has held roles in North 
America, the UK, Italy and Central 
and Eastern Europe. 

Alessandra joined the Executive  
Committee on 1 March 2017.

Christine Heffernan 
Group Communications Director
Christine is responsible for rebuilding trust 
in the Tesco brand and its businesses.

Christine joined Tesco in 2014. Since 
October 2018 she has supported the 
Group Chief Executive in delivery of the 
corporate reputation plan for the 
centenary year and prior to that was the 
Corporate Affairs Director for Tesco 
Ireland. Prior to Tesco, Christine worked in 
communications in both the energy and 
telecoms sectors.

Christine joined the Executive Committee 
on 1 March 2019.

Natasha Adams 
Chief People Officer
Natasha is responsible for setting the 
people strategy and plans at Tesco, 
including reward, colleague experience 
and capability.

Natasha joined Tesco in 1998 as a 
Personnel Manager and has served in a 
range of store-focused roles over the last 
20 years, including as Customer Services 
Director UK, Business Support Director 
UK and Group Personnel Manager for 
Scotland. In 2016 Natasha was 
promoted to People Director for Tesco’s 
UK and Ireland stores and joined the 
UK Leadership Team before being 
appointed to her current role of 
Chief People Officer.

Natasha is a Tesco Pension Trustee.

Natasha joined the Executive Committee 
on 1 June 2018.

Tony Hoggett 
Chief Operations Officer
Tony is responsible for developing the 
operational capability and strategy 
across the Group as well as leading the 
operations of the UK business. Tony also 
has responsibility for Tesco’s joint 
ventures in both China and India. 

Tony joined Tesco in 1990 and has served 
in a range of leadership roles in the UK 
and Asia over the last three decades. 
Between 2007 and 2011 he held the roles 
of VP South China, as well as President 
North China, before moving to Turkey as 
Chief Operating Officer for Tesco Kipa.

In 2011, Tony returned to the UK and held 
Managing Director roles across all of our 
large store formats. He also joined the 
board of Tesco Mobile in 2012. In 2014, he 
joined the UK Leadership Team as Retail 
Director and then was appointed Chief 
Operating Officer UK in 2016 and CEO, Asia 
in 2017. Tony was appointed to his current 
role on 1 June 2018. 

Tony joined the Executive Committee  
on 1 April 2017.

Alison Horner 
CEO, Asia
Alison is responsible for Tesco’s 
businesses in Thailand and Malaysia. 
Alison also leads our developing 
business partnerships across the region. 

Alison joined Tesco in 1999 and worked 
in a variety of operational leadership 
roles running stores and leading change 
programmes, prior to being appointed 
Chief People Officer in 2011. She was 
appointed to her current role on 
1 June 2018. Alison is a member of 
the Manchester Business School 
Advisory Board. 

Alison joined the Executive Committee  
on 1 March 2011.

44

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Matt Simister 
CEO, Central Europe
Matt is responsible for all of Tesco’s 
businesses in the Czech Republic, 
Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. 

Matt joined Tesco in 1996 as a marketer. 
He built on his UK experience with three 
years as Commercial Director for our 
Czech and Slovak businesses. Following 
this, he returned to the UK to set up our 
Group Food capability, managing our 
regional fresh food and Tesco Brand 
sourcing, buying and inbound supply 
chains for the UK, ROI, Central Europe and 
Asia. In April 2017, Matt was appointed to 
his current role of CEO, Central Europe. 

Matt joined the Executive Committee  
on 1 April 2017.

Jason Tarry 
CEO, UK & ROI
Jason is responsible for all of Tesco’s 
businesses in the UK and ROI. 

Jason joined Tesco in October 1990 on the 
graduate recruitment programme. He has 
held a number of positions in the UK and 
internationally across both food and 
non-food divisions. Jason became CEO 
for clothing across the Group in 2012, 
before being appointed as Chief Product 
Officer in January 2015. In July 2018, 
Jason was appointed to his current 
role of CEO, UK & ROI. 

Jason joined the Executive Committee 
on 1 January 2015.

Gerry Mallon 
Chief Executive, Tesco Bank
Gerry is responsible for leading  
Tesco Bank.

Gerry has held a number of leadership 
roles in financial services. Most recently 
Gerry served as chief executive officer of 
Ulster Bank Ireland where he led 
significant change in the business, 
including broad investment in technology 
to modernise the bank. In this role, Gerry 
was a member of the RBS personal and 
business banking executive committee. 
Before joining Ulster Bank, Gerry served as 
chief executive officer of Danske Bank UK 
(formerly Northern Bank) for eight years, 
successfully leading the organisation in 
the aftermath of the financial crisis. 
Earlier in his career, Gerry held roles at 
Bank of Ireland, McKinsey & Company, and 
the UK Civil Service. Outside of financial 
services, Gerry served as pro-chancellor 
and chair of council at the University of 
Ulster, president of the Institute of 
Banking in Ireland, and he is currently 
chairman of the Irish Football Association. 

Gerry joined the Executive Committee  
on 13 August 2018.

Adrian Morris 
Group General Counsel
Adrian is responsible for the legal, 
company secretarial, government 
relations, regulatory and compliance 
functions across Tesco. 

Adrian joined Tesco in September 2012 
as Group General Counsel. Prior to Tesco, 
Adrian worked at BP PLC as associate 
general counsel for refining and marketing 
and prior to that at Centrica PLC, initially 
as european group general counsel and 
then as general counsel for British Gas. 
Adrian is a Tesco Pension Trustee. 

Adrian joined the Executive Committee 
on 6 September 2012.

Charles Wilson 
CEO, Booker
As a member of the Executive Committee 
Charles contributes to the broad Tesco 
strategy agenda. He is specifically 
responsible for delivering UK & ROI cost 
synergies and driving the growth agenda 
set out in the Booker merger agreement. 
As a member of Jason’s UK & ROI 
leadership team he is responsible for 
leading the Booker business.

Charles joined Tesco in March 2018 following 
the merger of Tesco PLC and Booker Group 
plc. Charles became an executive director of 
Booker Group plc in 1998, which merged 
with Iceland plc in 2000. In 2001 he became 
an executive director of Arcadia Group plc 
and in 2004 he became an executive 
director of Marks & Spencer plc. In 2005 he 
was appointed as chief executive of Booker 
Group plc. Charles started his career in 1986 
with Procter & Gamble following which he 
was a consultant with OC&C Strategy 
Consultants and a director of 
Abberton Associates. 

Charles joined the Executive Committee on 
5 March 2018.

Andrew Yaxley 
Chief Product Officer
Andrew is responsible for setting the 
strategy and policy for the planning, ranging, 
sourcing and supply of the products we sell 
across the Group. In addition, he has direct 
responsibility for managing this for the UK. 

Andrew joined Tesco in 2001 from Mars Inc. 
He has worked across a number of product 
divisions including four years as Commercial 
Director for our Czech and Slovak 
businesses. On returning to the UK in 2007 
he first led the Packaged Division and then 
in 2010 the Fresh Division. He became 
Managing Director of the London business 
in 2013, before moving to Ireland as CEO in 
April 2015. In July 2018, he was promoted 
to Chief Product Officer. 

Andrew joined the Executive Committee on 
16 July 2018.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

45

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

Corporate governance framework.
Board and committees structure.
The core objective of the Board is to create and deliver the 
long-term sustainable success of the Company, generating value 
for shareholders and contributing to wider society. It sets the 
Group’s purpose, strategy and values and is accountable to 
shareholders for ensuring that the Group is appropriately managed 
and achieves its objectives in a way that is supported by the right 
culture and behaviours. The Board sets the Group’s risk appetite 
and satisfies itself that financial controls and risk management 
systems are robust, while ensuring the Group is adequately 
resourced. The Board is aware of its obligations to shareholders 
and other stakeholders and responds to their needs through 
transparent reporting and active engagement.

possess. These ensure that leadership and decision-making is 
focused and balanced, and is approached with independent 
thought and judgement. With the relationship between the 
Directors being one of trust and mutual respect, open and frank 
conversations ensure that even the most challenging decisions 
are taken for the benefit of the Company with due consideration 
for the stakeholders that it may also affect.

The Board has delegated specific responsibilities to the Board 
Committees: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nominations and 
Governance and Remuneration Committees. The Committees 
provide detailed focus to different areas of the Board’s work. 
Committee papers and minutes are shared with all Directors and 
each Committee Chair provides a written and verbal report on 
Committee activities to the Board after each Committee meeting.

In this way, the leadership of the Company is supported by Tesco’s 
Articles of Association, the schedule of matters reserved for the 
Board, our corporate governance framework and the statutory 
duties of a Director.

The operations of the Board are underpinned by the collective 
experience of the Directors and the diverse skills which they 

Matters considered by each of the Committees is set out 
in the Committee’s Terms of Reference which can be 
found at www.tesco.com. Information regarding each 
of the Committee’s activities during 2018/19 are detailed 
in the Committee reports on pages 54 to 79. 

Board

Audit 
Committee

Corporate 
Responsibility 
Committee 

Nominations  
and Governance 
Committee

Remuneration
Committee

Role: Provides 
independent assessment 
and oversight of financial 
reporting processes 
including related internal 
controls, risk management 
and compliance, as well as 
overseeing the work of the 
external auditor.

Members:

Byron Grote (Chair) 
Mark Armour 
Melissa Bethell 
Stewart Gilliland 
Simon Patterson 

Role: Ensures that the 
Board maintains an 
adequate focus on 
corporate responsibility 
and sustainability matters, 
especially those that 
support Tesco’s strategy.

Role: Reviews size and 
composition of the Board, 
succession planning, 
diversity, inclusion and 
governance matters. 

Role: Determines 
remuneration policy and 
packages for Executive 
Directors and senior 
managers, having regard 
to pay across the Group. 

Members:

Members:

Members:

Lindsey Pownall (Chair) 
John Allan 
Steve Golsby 
Mikael Olsson 
Deanna Oppenheimer

John Allan (Chair) 
Byron Grote  
Deanna Oppenheimer 

Steve Golsby (Chair) 
John Allan 
Byron Grote 
Mikael Olsson 
Deanna Oppenheimer  
Alison Platt

Profiles of each of the Directors fulfilling the 
Committee roles are detailed on pages 40 to 42. 

46

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

The Board held six scheduled meetings during the year and an additional strategy day, which included consideration of the Long Term Plan. 
In addition to scheduled meetings, the Board met four times to consider matters of a time-sensitive nature. Directors are expected to attend 
all Board and relevant Committee meetings. The table below shows the attendance at the scheduled Board and Committee meetings:

John Allan 
Mark Armour

Melissa Bethell(b)
Stewart Gilliland(c)(e)
Steve Golsby(d)
Byron Grote

Dave Lewis

Mikael Olsson

Deanna Oppenheimer 

Simon Patterson

Alison Platt(e)

Lindsey Pownall

Alan Stewart

Chair of Board or Committee

Notes:

Board (a)

6/6 

6/6

3/3

5/6

6/6

6/6

6/6

6/6

6/6

6/6

5/6

6/6

6/6

Audit
Committee

Nominations and 
Governance 
Committee

Corporate 
Responsibility 
Committee

Remuneration 

Committee(d) 

–

5/5

3/3

2/2

–

5/5 

–

–

–

5/5

–

–

–

4/4 

–

–

–

–

4/4

–

–

4/4

–

–

–

–

3/3

–

–

–

3/3

–

–

3/3

3/3

–

–

3/3 

–

4/4

–

–

–

4/4 

4/4

–

4/4

4/4

–

3/4

–

–

(a)  Charles Wilson joined the Board as a Director on 5 March 2018 and stood down on 16 July 2018 due to ill health, but remains on the Executive Committee as CEO, Booker. While on the 

Board he attended two of two meetings.

(b)  Melissa Bethell was appointed as a Non-executive Director and member of the Audit Committee on 24 September 2018.
(c)  Stewart Gilliland joined the Board as a Non-executive Director on 5 March 2018 and the Audit Committee on 27 November 2018.
(d)  Steve Golsby replaced Deanna Oppenheimer as Chair of the Remuneration Committee on 1 February 2019. Deanna remains a member of the Committee.
(e)  Absences at scheduled Board or Committee meetings during the year were due to commitments pre-dating appointment to the Board (Stewart Gilliland) and ill health (Alison Platt).

The Board delegates responsibility for the day-to-day operational management of the Company to the Group Chief Executive, who 
is supported by the Executive Committee, Group Risk and Compliance Committee and other committees. When the need arises, 
a standing Disclosure Committee is convened to consider timely and accurate disclosure of sensitive information and the Board has 
agreed a Delegation of Authority.

Executive  
Committee.
The Group Chief Executive is 
supported by the Executive 
Committee, which is 
responsible for developing 
and implementing strategy, 
operational plans, policies, 
procedures and budgets; 
monitoring operational and 
financial performance; 
assessing and controlling risk; 
and prioritising and allocating 
resources. The Committee 
meets 11 times a year.

Group Risk and 
Compliance 
Committee.
The Committee meets six 
times a year to evaluate and 
propose policies, monitor 
processes to control 
business, operational and 
compliance risks faced by the 
Group, and to assess 
emerging risks. Regular 
reporting of these risks is 
presented to the Audit 
Committee and Board. 

Disclosure  
Committee.
The Committee supports the 
Board in overseeing the 
implementation of the 
governance and procedures 
associated with the 
assessment, control and 
disclosure of inside 
information in accordance 
with the Market Abuse 
Regulation. 

Group Delegation 
of Authority.
The Delegation of Authority 
provides a clear direction on 
decision-making, ensuring 
that decisions are taken at 
the right level of the business 
by the colleagues best placed 
to take them. 

Our systems of internal control and risk management are integral to our corporate governance framework. 

More information on internal control and risk 
management can be found on page 59.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

47

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

Board activities.

The Board is the decision-making body for those matters that are 
considered of significance to the Group owing to their strategic, 
financial or reputational implications or consequences. To retain 
control of these key decisions, certain matters have been 
identified that only the Board may approve and there is a formal 
schedule of matters reserved for the Board, as shown below. 

The Board has an agenda programme that ensures operational 
and financial performance, risk, governance, strategy, culture 
and stakeholders are discussed at the appropriate time. 

A summary of the Board’s key activities during the year are 
detailed below, together with a breakdown of the proportion 
of time spent by the Board on these matters. 

Link to  
strategic drivers

Focus
Operational performance
20%

For a detailed update on our operational 
performance see our Strategic report  
on pages 1 to 17.

Financial performance and risk 
20%

More information on financial performance 
and risk can be found on pages 18 to 23,  
32 to 37 and 56 to 61.

Governance
17%

For further details of the evaluation of 
the Board’s performance see the Board 
effectiveness section on page 51.

Strategy
23%

For an update on Strategy see our Strategic 
report on pages 1 to 37.

Culture and stakeholders
20%

More information on Stakeholder engagement 
can be found on pages 52 and 53.

What the Board has considered

 – CEO reports
 – Market updates
 – Business reviews: Tesco Bank, Tesco 
Mobile, Clubcard, F&F, dunnhumby 
and Booker

 – Integration of Booker

 – Reviews of UK & ROI, Central 

Europe and Asia 

 – Technology and data updates
 – Health & safety updates 
 – Property updates

 – Periodic results, including financial 

 – Risk reports, including areas of 

performance and budget 

 – Dividend approvals 
 – Annual budget and Long Term Plan
 – Going concern and viability statements
 – Review of cost reduction programme
 – Integration of Booker

emerging risk
 – Internal control
 – Funding and liquidity plans
 – Brexit impact
 – Finance transformation

 – Annual Report and other 

financial statements
 – AGM documentation
 – Talent management  

and succession planning
 – Approval of major contracts
 – Reports from Committee Chairs

 – Strategy day
 – Online and technology strategies
 – Monitoring of delivery of strategy
 – Property opportunities

 – Results of Group-wide colleague 

engagement surveys

 – Investor relations updates
 – Corporate Renewal Plan
 – Integration of Booker
 – Code of business conduct
 – Competitor and customer insights
 – Consumer trends and implications 

 – Board and Committee 

appointments

 – Property valuations, acquisitions 

and disposals

 – External effectiveness review of 
the Board and its Committees 
and Directors

 – Launch of Jack’s
 – Strategic partnership with 

Carrefour

 – Financial strategy, leverage and 

use of cash

 – Approach to sourcing 
 – Diversity and inclusion
 – Results of Socio-Economic 

Contribution study

 – Corporate Responsibility 

Committee reports

 – Supplier surveys and reports

Key to six strategic drivers:

Differentiated brand 

Reduce operating costs by £1.5bn

Generate £9bn cash from operations

Maximise the mix to achieve a 3.5%-4.0% margin

Maximise value from property  

Innovation

Summary of matters reserved for the Board.
 – Group strategy, operating plans, long term 

plans and budget 

 – Changes to corporate and capital structure

 – Major acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures 

and disposals

 – Significant capital expenditure and borrowing 

 – Material contracts

 – Risk management and internal control

 – Changes to pension scheme

 – Financial reporting and disclosures

 – Review of remuneration policies and share schemes

 – Dividend policy and payment

48

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

 
 
 
 
 
Leadership.

Board balance and independence.
Effective management and good stewardship are led by the Board. 
The Board is currently composed of the Chairman, who was 
independent upon appointment, two Executive Directors and 10 
Non-executive Directors. The Board has agreed a clear division of 
responsibilities between the running of the Board and running the 
business of the Group. The responsibilities of the Chairman, 
Group Chief Executive, Senior Independent Director and other 
Directors are clearly defined in role statements to ensure that no 
one individual has unrestricted powers of decision and no small 
group of Directors can dominate the Board’s decision-making. 
As set out in their biographies on pages 40 to 42, each member 
of the Board offers a range of core skills and experience that is 
relevant to the successful operation of the Group.

The Non-executive Directors provide a strong independent 
element to the Board and a solid foundation for good corporate 
governance, fulfilling the vital role of corporate accountability. 
The Board believes that the oversight they provide is balanced 
with individuals contributing a broad range of skills, diverse 
experience and knowledge, demonstrating independence and 
constructive challenge. During the year, the Chairman met 
frequently with Non-executive Directors without Executive 
Directors being present.

The Nominations and Governance Committee, which has 
carefully considered the matter, is of the opinion that each of the 
current Non-executive Directors continues to be independent in 
character and judgement in line with the definition set out in the 
2016 Code. In reaching its determination of independence, it 
concluded that each provides objective challenge to management, 
is willing to stand up and defend his or her own beliefs and 
viewpoints in order to support the ultimate good of the 
Company and that there are no relationships or circumstances 
which are likely to affect the judgement of each of the  
Non-executive Directors.

Board information.
At Board meetings, Directors receive and consider papers and 
presentations from the Executive Directors and senior managers. 
This enables the Non-executive Directors to engage with colleagues 
from across the Group. Effective review and decision-making is 
supported by providing the Board with high-quality, clear and timely 
information, including input from advisors where necessary. In the 
rare event of a Director being unable to attend a meeting, the Chair 
of the respective meeting discusses the matters proposed with the 
Director concerned wherever possible, seeking their support and 
feedback accordingly. The Chair subsequently represents those 
views at the meeting. If Directors have concerns about the 
Company or a proposed action which cannot be resolved, it is 
recorded in the Board minutes. Also on resignation, Non-executive 
Directors are encouraged to provide a written statement of any 
concerns to the Chairman, for circulation to the Board. No such 
concerns were raised in 2018/19 and up to the date of this report. 
Time commitment.
Each Non-executive Director must be able to devote 
sufficient time to the role in order to discharge his or her 
responsibilities effectively. 

The Nominations and Governance Committee assesses the time 
commitments of Directors on a regular basis to ensure that they 
each have sufficient time to devote to their role. This assessment 
takes into account the number of external commitments each 
Director has and that each Director has demonstrated they 
have sufficient time to devote to their present role within Tesco, 
including under potential periods of corporate stress. The Board is 
currently satisfied that the number of appointments held by each 
Director in addition to their position with Tesco is appropriate to 
allow them to fulfil their obligations to Tesco.

Details of the Directors’ service contracts and terms 
of appointment, together with their interests in the 
Company’s shares, are shown in the Directors’ 
remuneration report on pages 62 to 79.

Role statements.

Senior Independent Director.
The Senior Independent Director provides a 
sounding board for the Chairman and acts as 
an intermediary for the Non-executive 
Directors, where necessary. She is available 
to shareholders should they have any 
concerns where communication through 
normal channels has not been successful or 
where such channels are inappropriate. The 
Senior Independent Director is responsible 
for leading the Non-executive Directors in 
appraising the performance of the Chairman. 

Chairman.
The Chairman leads the Board and is 
responsible for promoting a culture of 
openness and effective communications 
between Executive and Non-executive 
Directors and for creating an environment 
at Board meetings in which all Directors 
contribute to discussions and feel 
comfortable in engaging in healthy debate 
and constructive challenge. The Chairman 
ensures that all new Directors have an 
appropriately tailored induction process.

Non-executive Directors. 
The Non-executive Directors bring insight and 
experience to the Board. They have 
responsibility for constructively challenging the 
strategies proposed by the Executive Directors, 
scrutinising the performance of management 
in achieving agreed goals and objectives, as 
well as playing a leading role in the functioning 
of the Board Committees, bringing an 
independent view to the discussion. They meet 
with the Chairman without the Executive 
Directors being present and meet with the 
Senior Independent Director to review the 
Chairman’s performance and other matters. 

Group Chief Executive.
The Group Chief Executive has day-to-day 
responsibility for the effective management 
of the Group’s business and for ensuring that 
Board decisions are implemented. He plays a 
key role in devising and reviewing Group 
strategies for discussion and approval by the 
Board. The Group Chief Executive is tasked 
with providing regular reports to the Board 
on all matters of significance relating to the 
Group’s business, or reputation, to ensure 
that the Board has accurate, timely and 
clear information on all matters.
Group Company Secretary.
The Group Company Secretary is 
secretary to the Board. He ensures 
Board procedures are complied with 
and the Board has the information, time 
and resources it needs in order to 
function effectively and efficiently. 
He advises the Board on all governance 
matters and facilitates induction 
programmes for new Directors and 
provides briefings on governance, legal 
and regulatory matters.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

49

Corporate governanceInduction case study.

Melissa Bethell joined the Board in September 2018 
and has undertaken a tailored and comprehensive 
induction programme over a six-month period. 

Upon appointment, Melissa received an induction 
pack, which included a broad range of information 
including Board and Committee papers, as well as 
Board minutes and details of operational and 
financial performance, risk management and internal 
control, to provide an overview of the business. 

Over the six-month induction period, she met with a 
number of senior managers from around the Group 
as well as the Chairs of each of the Committees and 
a number of advisors, providing her with an in-depth 
overview of the key themes and areas of focus of 
the Group. In addition to site visits to Extra, Super, 
Express and Metro stores and distribution and dot 
com centres, Melissa worked in our Marlborough 
store providing an opportunity to meet colleagues 
and see at first hand the operations of a store.

Corporate governance report continued

Independent advice.
All Directors have access to the advice of the Group Company 
Secretary and, in appropriate circumstances, may obtain 
independent professional advice at the Company’s expense. 
No such requests were made in 2018/19. In addition, a Directors’ 
and Officers’ Liability Insurance policy is maintained for all 
Directors and each Director has the benefit of a Deed of Indemnity.

The appointment and removal of the Group Company Secretary 
is a matter reserved for the Board as a whole.
Election and re-election of Directors.
Non-executive Directors are initially appointed for a three-year 
term with an expectation that they will continue for at least a 
further three years. In accordance with their letter of appointment, 
after three years’ service the performance of a Non-executive 
Director is rigorously assessed by the Nominations and 
Governance Committee, with any development needs discussed 
by the Chairman with the Non-executive Director. In accordance 
with best practice and the 2016 Code, Directors are nominated 
by the Nominations and Governance Committee and are 
subsequently approved by the Board for election or re-election 
annually by shareholders at the Company’s AGM. All Directors will 
submit themselves for election or re-election at the forthcoming 
AGM in June 2019.
Induction.
All new Directors receive a comprehensive induction programme 
over a number of months which is designed to facilitate their 
understanding of the business and is tailored to their individual 
needs. The Chairman and the Group Company Secretary 
are responsible for delivering the programme covering the 
Company’s core purpose and values, strategy, key areas of the 
business and corporate governance. The induction is delivered 
through introductory meetings with senior management across 
the business, attendance at Committee meetings, site visits, 
working in a store and access to a library of reference materials. 
Development.
The Board believes strongly in the development of the Directors 
and the Group’s employees. The Chairman regularly discusses 
training requirements with the Board and arranges meetings or 
asks for information to be provided, as appropriate. As part of 
the ongoing development of Directors, key site visits are arranged 
and Directors are provided with the opportunity to, and are 
encouraged to, attend training to ensure they are kept up to 
date on relevant legal, regulatory and financial developments 
or changes. Directors also receive the benefit of teach-ins 
and technical updates provided at Board and Committee 
meetings, which aim to ensure that Directors remain up to 
date with key developments on the business environment in 
which Tesco operates.
Conflicts of interest.
In accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and the Company’s 
Articles of Association, Directors are required to report actual or 
potential conflicts of interest to the Board for consideration and, 
if appropriate, authorisation. If such conflicts exist, Directors 
excuse themselves from consideration of the relevant matter. 
The Company maintains a register of authorised conflicts of 
interest which is reviewed annually by the Nominations and 
Governance Committee. 

50

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Board effectiveness.

Performance evaluation.
In accordance with the requirements of the 2016 Code, the Board 
carries out a review of the effectiveness of its performance and 
that of its Committees and Directors every year and the evaluation 
is facilitated externally every third year. 

The 2018/19 Board effectiveness review was facilitated by Dr Tracy 
Long of Boardroom Review, an external board evaluation specialist, 
between January and April 2019. Neither Tracy Long nor 
Boardroom Review has any other connection with the business. 

Boardroom Review was appointed following an extensive tender 
process overseen by the Nominations and Governance Committee. 
The tender process involved drawing up a long list of eight 
providers, each having extensive experience for facilitating 
effectiveness reviews. Each firm completed a request for proposal, 
after which a formal assessment process was undertaken by the 
Chairman and the Group Company Secretary resulting in 
Boardroom Review being selected.

The aim of the review was to assess the effectiveness of the Board, 
both as a collective unitary Board and at individual Board member 
level, in order to implement any actions required to become a 
more effective Board. The review was designed to encourage 
Directors to optimise their contribution to the success of Tesco 
and add value beyond their statutory requirements, by building on 

External evaluation process.

existing strengths, agreeing on the challenges ahead and preparing 
for the future. To this end, each Director was given individual 
feedback and development advice from Tracy Long at the 
end of the review.

The review concluded that the performance of the Board, its 
Committees, the Chairman and each of the Directors continues to 
be effective. All Directors demonstrated commitment to their roles 
and the boardroom culture was deemed effective and conducive 
to creating a positive environment for participation and challenge 
by the Non-executive Directors. The review identified some 
opportunities for the Board and the resulting areas of focus 
are summarised as follows:

 –  Further shaping the narrative and agreeing the priorities of the 

Group for the longer term;

 –  Continuing to develop and articulate the appetite for risk and 

ensuring it is aligned with the emerging longer-term strategy; and

 –  Developing a refreshment and succession plan for Non-executive 
Directors, designed to optimise strategic relevance, diversity of 
perspective and governance expertise to meet the future needs 
of the Group.

The Board is considering all of the recommendations of the Board 
evaluation report.

Conducted tender 
process resulting in 
Boardroom Review 
being appointed to 
facilitate the 
evalutaion.

Boardroom Review 
was briefed by the 
Chairman and the 
Group Company 
Secretary and 
provided with access 
to Board and 
Committee papers as 
a part of their 
preparatory work for 
the evaluation.

Tracy Long attended 
the Board and 
Committee meetings 
held in February to 
observe the 
Directors and the 
dynamics of the 
meeting.

During January, 
February	and	March	
2019, Tracy Long 
conducted detailed 
one-to-one 
interviews with each 
member of the Board 
as well as the Group 
Company Secretary 
and the Group 
General Counsel. 
These were based on 
a clear agenda which 
was sent to each 
participant in 
advance.

A report prepared by 
Tracy Long setting 
out her findings and 
recommendations on 
further performance 
improvements was 
discussed with the 
Chairman, prior to 
being presented by 
Tracy Long to the 
Board in April. 
Feedback on 
individual Directors 
was shared with the 
Chairman and a 
report on the 
Chairman was 
shared with the 
Senior Independent 
Director.

The Board conducted internal effectiveness reviews in 2016/17 and 2017/18, which were led by the Chairman and Senior Independent Director, 
respectively. The reviews included an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Board, its Committees and individual Directors. The performance 
evaluation of the Chairman is carried out by the Non-executive Directors, led by the Senior Independent Director, taking into account the 
views of the Executive Directors. Progress against the conclusions of the 2017/18 Board evaluation is set out below. 

2017/18 areas of focus 

Further improve the  
oversight of risk

Ensure the effective monitoring of the 
integration of Booker Group

Identify ways to further engage 
on technology issues

Achievements and progress

Regular reports were made to the Audit Committee on the identification, assessment and monitoring of 
risks. The Board received training on the dynamic threat posed by cyber risks and discussed emerging Group 
risks and Red Team Testing
During the year, regular reports were provided to the Board on progress with the integration of Booker, 
including negotiations with suppliers, consolidation of business services across the UK core business and 
Booker and utilisation of spare capacity at Tesco distribution centres to support growth
Reporting to the Board has been enhanced in this area, including presentations on digital trends,  
innovations, technology and data security

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

51

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

Stakeholder engagement.

Our purpose, culture and values.
Serving shoppers a little better every day is at the heart 
of everything we do at Tesco. We recognise that culture, 
underpinned by our values, plays a fundamental role in the 
way we do business and the delivery of our strategic objectives 
and KPIs. Our values are recognised across the Group and have 
become a vital part of our culture. They ensure that every 
colleague at Tesco understands what is important – about 
how we work together as a team and how customers are at 
the centre of what we do.

Our Little Helps Plan identifies the most pressing social and 
environmental challenges facing the business, our customers, 
our colleagues and our communities to help tackle these. 
This provides a philosophy for how our business should be 
run in a way that makes a positive contribution to our 
colleagues, customers and communities. Through the 
three pillars of the Little Helps Plan – People, Product and 
Places – we are committed to doing the right thing. 
Foundation activities of climate change, cyber security, 
governance and ethics, health and safety and product 
safety underpin the three pillars. The Foundations are key 
requirements of a responsible business and are 
fundamental to the way we operate. 

The Little Helps Plan builds on the progress we have made so 
far. It is helping to drive our progress in making Tesco a place 
where colleagues can get on, whatever their background; to 
help our customers make healthier choices and enjoy good 
quality, sustainable products at affordable prices; and to help 
tackle food waste. It spans three areas core to our operating 
model and the long-term success of our business.

Our Code of Business Conduct, which defines the standards 
and behaviours expected of colleagues, supports our core 
values. The Code of Business Conduct is supported by Group 
policies and mandatory training which includes anti-bribery 
and corruption, competition law, data protection and supplier 
legislation. Colleagues are required to complete mandatory 
training to reinforce the importance of these standards. 
For new colleagues, there is a requirement to complete this 
training within five days of joining Tesco. Refresher training 
is required on an annual basis. In addition, ‘Protector Line’, 
an independent and confidential whistleblowing service, 
allows colleagues and suppliers to raise concerns 
regarding misconduct and any breaches of the Code 
of Business Conduct.

The Board and senior management are responsible for 
ensuring that their activities reflect the culture we wish to 
instil in our colleagues and other stakeholders and drive the 
right behaviours. We have a responsibility to ensure that our 
colleagues do the right things in the right way by setting the 
tone from the top and leading by example. This means that in 
every decision we take, and every plan we develop, we ask 
ourselves one simple question: how will it help serve our 
shoppers a little better every day?

Core purpose.
Serving shoppers a little better every day.

Our values.

No one tries 
harder for our 
customers

We treat 
people how 
they want to 
be treated

Every little help 
makes a big 
difference

Little Helps Plan pillars.

People.

Products.

Places.

Visit www.tescoplc.com/littlehelpsplan  
to view Tesco’s Little Helps Plan. 

Customers.
 – Customers are at the heart of everything Tesco does. 

 – Through surveys and engagement with customers, Tesco 
listens and acts on what customers want. The results of 
customer feedback are reported to the Board, Executive 
Committee and functional management. This forms the 
measurement for one of our six KPIs.

 – Operating in a competitive market, we recognise that the 
more improvements are made for customers, the better 
sales will be enabling Tesco to reinvest for further 
improvements and stakeholder initiatives.

 – Through the Little Helps Plan we provide customers with 

the assurances they need and provide affordable, healthy, 
sustainable products which are accessible to all. One of 
our targets is to help our customers make healthier food 
choices every time they shop with us. 

 – Through community programmes such as Bags of Help, 

our customers choose the local good causes we support.

 – Clubcard is a way of understanding our customers and 
thanking them for their loyalty. We treat our customers 
with integrity when dealing with the privacy of customer 
data. This is supported by mandatory training for colleagues 
on information security and data protection awareness.

Visit www.tescoplc.com/about-us/how-we-do-business 
to view Tesco’s Code of Business Conduct.

52

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

We serve nearly

80 million

shoppers every week

Colleagues.
 – Inclusivity and creating a culture where everyone feels welcome, 
that fosters talent and allows colleagues to achieve their full 
career potential are integral to our business. 

 – Our commitment to helping our colleagues get on is one of the 

key pillars of the Little Helps Plan.

 – A wide range of learning and development opportunities are 
available to colleagues, including subject-specific courses, 
motivational talks and mentoring programmes.

 – We have worked with partners, such as Nuffield Health to 

develop a wellbeing programme based on improved nutrition, 
healthy body and healthy mind. Mental wellbeing is also 
important. Mindapples e-learning was accessed by colleagues 
18,000 times since it launched and more than 800 UK colleagues 
have taken part in mental health awareness workshops.

 – The ‘What Matters To You’ employee engagement survey allows 

colleagues to provide feedback on a variety of issues. The results 
are reviewed by the Board, Executive Committee and functional 
management. 83% of colleagues who participated in the most 
recent survey, regard Tesco as a ‘Great Place to Work’. 

 – We host colleague conferences globally, where leadership teams 
talk about our business priorities. Our existing colleague forums 
will be expanded to establish Colleague Contribution Panels 
across the Group, with representation by a Non-executive 
Director so that informed decisions are made in the interest 
of the Company and stakeholders.

Suppliers.
 – We are committed to building trusted partnerships with 
our suppliers which are crucial to delivering many of our 
commitments, such as working with suppliers to remove 
hard to recycle materials from our Own Brand packaging line.

 – The Code of Business Conduct sets out key behaviours to 
ensure we treat our suppliers fairly and with respect. 

 – These trusted relationships with our suppliers help us serve 
our customers a little better every day and also help us 
deliver the Little Helps Plan.

 – The Board recognises that providing a better service to 

our customers, requires our suppliers to meet the highest 
safety and legal standards. 

 – Supplier training provides suppliers with the skills, knowledge and 
guidance to ensure compliance and foster ongoing relationships. 

 – Supplier conferences are held on an annual basis.

 – Global supplier surveys (Supplier Viewpoint) are undertaken twice 
a year to seek suppliers’ views in relation to their interaction and 
experiences with Tesco. The results are reviewed by the Board, 
Executive Committee and functional management and actions 
undertaken in areas where lower scores are attained.

 – For a third successive year, we ranked first in the independently run 
Advantage survey which compares Tesco against our peer group.

 – Members of the Corporate Responsibility Committee 
visited India on a deep dive into garment sourcing.

We have more than

450,000

colleagues globally

We achieved a score of

77.5%

in the Supplier Viewpoint Survey

Shareholders.
 – The Investor Relations team provides the Board with 

regular feedback on investors’ views and key market issues. 
The Board engages with shareholders, including meetings and 
correspondence between the Chairman, Senior Independent 
Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and 
institutional shareholders to discuss key issues. 

 – Senior management and the Investor Relations team held regular 
meetings with existing and potential institutional investors and 
analysts during 2018/19. Additionally, the Chairman hosts store 
tours for private shareholders to provide an insight into Tesco’s 
operations and allow them to share their views on the business.

 – The Group Company Secretary’s team engages with private 

shareholders, who, with our registrars, Equiniti, provide a number 
of services to private shareholders.

 – The 2018 AGM was attended by nearly 400 shareholders and guests. 
All resolutions were passed, with votes in favour ranging from 100% 
to 91.3%. Approximately 74% of total voting rights were voted. In the 
event of significant opposition, actions would be taken to address the 
issue. A live webcast of the 2018 AGM was broadcast for the first time 
allowing shareholders globally to view the event. All Directors attend 
the AGM and are available to answer questions from shareholders.

 – Senior management maintain regular dialogue and communication 

with our relationship banks.

 – The corporate website (www.tescoplc.com) provides a wealth 

of information on the Group and its activities.

Community.
 – The Board’s approach to environmental, social and governance 

matters is of high importance. Through the Little Helps Plan Tesco 
is dedicated to improving sustainability. 

 – The Corporate Responsibility Committee has responsibility and 

oversight of the Little Helps Plan which supports causes and helps 
address issues that colleagues and customers care about locally. 

 – The Board approved a Health Charity Partnership with Diabetes 
UK, Cancer Research UK and The British Heart Foundation. 
Corporate Responsibility Committee members visited the 
Partnership to understand more about the work they do and how 
Tesco through its Partnership can help.

 – We have launched a four-year strategic partnership with WWF to 
help us accelerate delivery of our environmental commitments. 

 – This year we launched our Community Cookery Schools 

Programme to help community groups make the most of the food 
they receive through our food surplus donation programme. 

 – Our community grant programmes in the UK, Ireland and Central 

Europe allow our customers to choose the local causes we 
support. Through these programmes we have supported over 
39,000 community projects to date.

 – Our 320 Community Champions in stores across the UK help us 
build relationships with communities and support local events.

 – Colleagues and customers join our regular food collections which last 
year collected 3.5 million meals in the UK to help feed people in need.

We have more than

246,000

registered shareholders

We have supported more than

29,000

local projects and causes in 2018/19

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

53

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

Nominations and 
Governance Committee.

“We aim to attract and retain 
Board members with a 
diverse range of backgrounds 
who will contribute a wealth 
of knowledge, understanding 
and experience of the 
communities where 
Tesco operates.”

John Allan 
Chairman

Dear Shareholder. 
The Committee held four scheduled meetings during the year, 
which were attended by all members, primarily focusing on 
succession planning, talent management, corporate 
governance, inclusion and diversity. 
Board composition and succession planning.
The Committee keeps under review the size and composition of 
the Board and the need to refresh membership so that there is an 
appropriate balance of skills, knowledge, experience and diversity 
in its widest sense. The Committee recognises the need to attract 
Board members with a diverse range of backgrounds who can 
contribute a wealth of knowledge, understanding and experience 
of the communities where Tesco operates.

There have been a number of changes to the Board during the year. 
As reported in last year’s Annual Report, following completion of the 
Booker merger Stewart Gilliland and Charles Wilson joined the Board 
as a Non-executive Director and CEO of UK & ROI, respectively. 
Regrettably, in July 2018, Charles Wilson took the difficult decision 
to step down as a Director and CEO of UK & ROI due to ill health. 
However, he remains on the Executive Committee as CEO of Booker. 
In September 2018, we welcomed Melissa Bethell onto the Board. 
Melissa brings to the Board a wealth of international business 
strategy and investment management experience. An external 
search agency was not used for her appointment as she was 
introduced by a member of the Board. The Committee unanimously 
agreed it was not necessary to look further for a suitable Non-
executive Director as she fully met the role and capabilities profile 
developed by the Committee. Our succession planning has been 
reflected at Board Committee level with Steve Golsby succeeding 
Deanna Oppenheimer as Chair of the Remuneration Committee. 

Succession planning continues to be a priority for the Committee 
and throughout the year the Committee monitored the future 
leader pipeline and the available pool of talent in the Group. This is 
essential to ensuring a continuous level of quality in management, 
in avoiding instability by helping mitigate the risks which may be 
associated with unforeseen events, such as the departure of a key 
individual, and in promoting diversity and inclusion. During the year, 
the Committee developed a more systematic approach to 
succession planning for Non-executive Directors.
Diversity and inclusion.
The Committee strongly believes that diversity and providing an 
inclusive culture is a key driver of business success and the 
Committee is committed to having a diverse and inclusive leadership 
team which provides a range of perspectives, insights and the 
challenge needed to support good decision-making. 

The Committee is supportive of the recommendations set out in 
the Hampton-Alexander Review and is committed to raising the 

54

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

representation of women on the Board to 33%. As at the date 
of this report, 31% of the Board are female, which is an increase 
from 27% in 2017/18. In terms of our senior management, 31% 
of our Executive committee are female. We actively support 
women advancing into senior roles, as evidenced by our participation 
in initiatives such as Women in Finance Charter (Tesco Bank) and the 
30% Club. However, the Committee remains of the opinion that 
appointments to the Board and at senior management level should be 
objective and made on merit relative to a number of criteria, while 
taking account of social and ethnic backgrounds, as well as gender. 
Board effectiveness review.
Following two internal effectiveness reviews and in line with the UK 
Corporate Governance Code 2016, the Committee commissioned 
an external evaluation of Board effectiveness for 2018/19. The 
Committee agreed that the Group Company Secretary and I would 
conduct a tender exercise and recommend an external facilitator 
to the Committee. Following an extensive tender process, the 
Committee chose Boardroom Review to conduct the evaluation. 
More details on the effectiveness review are set out on page 51 
of the Corporate governance report.
Governance.
During the year, the Committee received regular updates on 
developments in corporate governance. The Committee was 
provided with detailed reports on the 2018 UK Corporate 
Governance Code and supports the drive for greater stakeholder 
engagement generally, as well as the reporting requirements for 
large subsidiary companies, and agreed a number of amendments 
to the Group’s corporate governance framework. 

John Allan
Nominations and Governance Committee Chair
Committee responsibilities.
 – review the size and composition of the Board and its Committees;
 – nomination of candidates for appointment to the Board;
 – review of succession planning, talent management and 

diversity and inclusion;

 – review and approve changes to the Group’s corporate 

governance framework; and

 – ensure a Board effectiveness review is conducted annually.

Key activities.
Succession planning: Reviewed succession plans for the 
Board, Executive committee and senior management
Non-executive Directors: Reviewed time commitments, conflicts 
of interest and independence
Diversity and inclusion: Assessed the Group’s approach to 
diversity and inclusion
Corporate governance: Considered developments in 
corporate governance and appointed the external facilitator for 
the external effectiveness review
Board appointments: Recommended Melissa Bethell as a 
Non-executive Director and a member of the Audit Committee; 
Steve Golsby as Chair of the Remuneration Committee; and 
Stewart Gilliland as a member of the Audit Committee

Committee membership together with attendance 
at meetings is detailed in the table on page 47. 
The Committee’s terms of reference are  
available at www.tescoplc.com.

Corporate Responsibility 
Committee.

“The Little Helps Plan sets 
out our core value that small 
actions add up – ‘Every Little 
Help makes a big difference.” 

Lindsey Pownall
Non-executive Director

Dear Shareholder. 
The Corporate Responsibility Committee is responsible for 
oversight of the Group’s corporate and social obligations as a 
responsible citizen and overseeing its conduct in response to those 
obligations. The Committee held three scheduled meetings during 
the year, which were attended by all members, primarily focusing 
on monitoring the corporate and social responsibility strategy 
globally and oversight of progress against the Little Helps Plan.

At each Committee meeting, progress against the Little Helps Plan 
is discussed with a detailed review of Tesco’s key focus areas of 
food waste, health, sourcing and packaging, a review of the KPI 
scorecard setting out Tesco’s commitments, and an overview of 
the Group’s impact on the environment and local communities. 

A key tenet of Tesco’s approach to corporate responsibility is to 
work with suppliers to make sustainable products accessible and 
affordable, providing customers with peace of mind that the 
products they buy from Tesco, no matter the range, are sourced 
with respect for the environment and people. In support of this, 
the Committee received a report from F&F, Tesco’s clothing brand, 
providing an update on three key areas: developing ethical supplier 
relationships to build trusted partnerships and ensure international 
human rights standards are respected; respect for the 
environment; and support for community projects and good 
causes in the countries and communities in which we source 
products. In September, I visited India with other members of the 
Committee to undertake a deep dive to understand how Tesco 
plans and manages its garment sourcing to: ensure safe and 
decent working conditions and avoid excessive work hours; 
support vulnerable communities; and to understand our 
suppliers’ experiences of working with Tesco. The visit also 
provided an opportunity to look at a number of sustainable 
sourcing programmes. 

Product safety is one of the foundations of the Little Helps Plan. 
The Committee received an update from the Group Quality 
Director on how Tesco works with its suppliers to ensure its 
products meet the highest safety and quality standards. 

Since the launch of the Little Helps Plan in October 2017, a clear 
marketing and communications plan has been developed to 
accelerate awareness and demonstrate Tesco’s priorities in food 
waste, health, sourcing and packaging, as well as further raising 
trust amongst consumers and influencers. During the year, the 
Committee discussed future planning, focusing on each of the 
three pillars of the Little Helps Plan to achieve a broad and 
targeted range of activities throughout the year on the issues 
of importance to Tesco’s stakeholders.

The Little Helps Plan is a Group-wide framework and throughout 
the year the Committee received detailed updates on the 
UK & ROI, Central Europe and Asia on how they are implementing 
and delivering on the targets and actions of the Little Helps Plan. 
While all regions are making good progress, we still have more 
to do and the Committee sees this as an opportunity to take 
further small actions to make a big difference.

Tesco has established strategic health charity partnerships with 
the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and Diabetes 
UK to help customers and colleagues make healthier choices. 
During the year, I visited each of the charities and also attended 
the launch of the partnership with WWF to make it easier for 
customers to buy affordable, healthy and sustainable food, as 
well as reducing the environmental impact of the average 
shopping basket by 50%. 

During the year, the Committee approved funds for a new 
training programme, the Tesco Community Cookery School with 
Jamie Oliver, which will teach more than 1,000 community cooks 
on how best to use surplus food donations they receive through 
the Community Food Connection. 

Lindsey Pownall
Corporate Responsibility Committee Chair

Committee responsibilities.
 – approve and monitor the corporate and social responsibility 
strategy to build trust and command respect and confidence;
 – oversight of the Group’s conduct in respect of its corporate 
and societal obligations as a responsible corporate citizen;

 – oversight of the creation of appropriate corporate 
responsibility policies and supporting measures;

 – identify and monitor external developments likely to have a 

significant influence on the Group’s reputation and its ability to 
conduct its business appropriately as a good corporate citizen;

 – review how best to protect Tesco’s reputation; and
 – oversight of the Group’s engagement with external stakeholders 

and other interested parties.

Key activities. 
Little Helps Plan deep dives: 
 – Little Helps Plan progress including regional progress updates
 – product safety 
 – people
 – responsible sourcing 
 – marketing and communications strategy
Activities on charitable partnerships and Group-wide projects
Review of the Committee’s performance and terms of reference

Committee membership together with attendance 
at meetings is detailed in the table on page 47. 
The Committee’s terms of reference are available at  
www.tescoplc.com. More information on the Little 
Helps Plan is set out on pages 24 to 31 and online at  
www.tescoplc.com/littlehelpsplan.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

55

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

Audit Committee.

‘The Committee has 
supported the Board on 
a number of significant 
governance matters 
relating to financial 
reporting, internal control 
and risk management.’

Byron Grote
Non-executive Director

Dear Shareholder.
Following the Group’s successful merger with the Booker Group, 
the Audit Committee has continued to support the business in 
achieving the key business and strategic drivers set out on pages 
14 and 15 of this Annual Report. 

The Audit Committee has supported the Board on a number of 
significant governance matters relating to financial reporting, 
internal control and risk management, including the Group’s 
transition to IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ financial reporting, the management 
of Group debt through bond buy-back and new issuance strategy 
and the continuing transformation programmes. The Committee 
regularly monitored the Group’s risk exposures in relation to 
changes in the external regulatory and political environment, 
including the possible impact of Brexit on the Group’s risk 
management activities. Further information can be found on 
pages 32 to 36 of this Annual Report. 

As well as the key activities undertaken or overseen by the 
Committee during the year through a periodic and structured 
rolling forward-looking planner, this report shares insights 
into our discussions. Looking ahead, these areas will remain 
a key focus in 2019/20.

Byron Grote
Audit Committee Chair

Committee responsibilities.
The Committee’s terms of reference were updated in February 
2019, and its responsibilities include:

 – monitoring the Group’s financial reporting processes;

 –  review, and challenge where necessary, the actions and 

judgements of management in relation to the interim and 
annual financial statements before submission to the Board;

 –  review the integrity of the interim and annual financial 

statements and announcements relating to the financial 
performance of the Group;

 –  consideration of the appointment and reappointment of 
the external auditor, their reports to the Committee and 
performance, the external auditor’s effectiveness and 
independence, including an assessment of their 
appropriateness to conduct any permitted non-audit work 
in accordance with the Group’s non-audit services policy, 
review of this policy and appropriateness;

 –  review and agreement with the external auditor as to the nature 

and scope of the external audit and approving the audit fee;

 –  review of the Group’s distributable reserve position in advance 

of any declaration of interim or final dividends;

 –  review and monitoring of the internal controls and risk 

management processes of the Group, including key financial, 
operational and compliance controls, identification and 
assessment of emerging and principal risks, including the 
effectiveness of risk mitigation, and making necessary 
recommendations to the Board;

 –  review of the internal audit programme and ensuring that the 
Internal Audit function (GAA) is adequately resourced, has 
appropriate standing within the Group and access to information 
to enable it to perform its function effectively and in accordance 
with relevant professional standards and is able to exercise 
independent judgement;

 – consideration of management’s response to any major 

external or internal audit recommendations;

 –  review the Group’s activities with respect to treasury and tax 
planning policies and such other policies as may be requested 
by the Board;

 –  review and report to the Board on the effectiveness of the 

Group’s whistleblowing arrangements by which employees and 
contractors may, in confidence, raise concerns about possible 
improprieties in financial reporting or other matters; and

 –  review of business continuity plans and processes for the 
prevention of fraud, bribery and corruption. More details 
can be found on pages 31 and 82 of this Annual Report.

Key activities.
Statutory Reporting: financial results; key accounting judgements; 
implementation of new accounting standards; going concern; 
longer-term prospects and viability; dividends; subsidiary audit 
exemptions; management’s representations to the external 
auditor; Booker integration; property valuation; pensions; 
solvency and liquidity update; liability management; and 
corporate simplification update
Risk & Control: risk management and controls assurance 
framework; internal control effectiveness; UK Corporate 
Governance Code assurance; principal and emerging risks; 
updates from the UK & ROI, Central Europe, Asia and Tesco 
Business Services Finance directors; key financial controls 
updates; insurable risk review; risk appetite; review of internal 
control effectiveness; Finance, People and Technology 
Transformation programmes; IT general controls and security 
programme update; pensions review; treasury & tax updates 
and Tesco Bank (including an update on the Bank’s risks)
Compliance: anti-bribery; whistleblowing; GSCOP; annual and 
Group compliance statements; GDPR; anti-fraud; gifts and 
entertainment; and privacy compliance
External Audit: audit scope and fees; non-audit fees; update 
reports; management letter observations; and effectiveness review
Internal Audit: update reports; 2018/19 audit plan; internal audit 
charter; review of executive expenses and effectiveness review
Other governance matters: Committee effectiveness; and terms 
of reference review

Committee membership together with attendance 
at meetings is detailed in the table on page 47. 
The Committee’s terms of reference are  
available at www.tescoplc.com.

56

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Audit Committee membership.
All of the Committee members are independent Non-executive 
Directors and the Board is satisfied that Byron Grote, Mark Armour 
and Melissa Bethell have significant, recent and relevant financial 
experience. Additionally, Byron Grote and Mark Armour are also 
competent in accounting and/or auditing. The Board considers 
that the Committee members as a whole have competence 
relevant to the Company’s sector, in addition to general 
management and commercial experience. The expertise and 
experience of the members of the Committee is set out in 
each of their biographies on pages 40 to 42.

Robert Welch is appointed as Secretary to the Committee. 
Other regular attendees at Committee meetings include the Group 
Chairman, Group Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer, Group 
General Counsel, Chief Audit and Risk Officer, Deputy Chief 
Financial Officer and representatives of the external auditor.
Audit Committee meetings.
The Committee held five scheduled meetings in the year and 
two additional meetings were convened to consider, in the 
context of Finance Transformation, the launch of a new general 
ledger system in the UK, ROI and India and the Group’s transition 
to IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ financial reporting. Each meeting has a distinct 
agenda to reflect the annual financial reporting cycle of the Group 
and particular matters for the Committee’s consideration.

The Committee has a structured rolling forward-looking planner, 
which is designed to ensure that its responsibilities are discharged 
in full during the year. This planner is developed with the Group 
Company Secretary and its content regularly reviewed with 
management and Deloitte. It is developed to meet the changing 
needs of the Group as the year progresses.

The Chair of the Committee provides a written and verbal update 
to the Board following each meeting and Committee meetings are 
generally scheduled close to Board meetings in order to facilitate 
an effective and timely reporting process.

Committee members met in private following each Committee 
meeting and also held separate private sessions with the Chief 
Audit and Risk Officer and the external auditor, in order to provide 
additional opportunity for open dialogue and feedback without 
management present. The Committee Chair also meets with the 
Chief Financial Officer, Chief Audit and Risk Officer and external 
auditor on an ad hoc basis and prior to each Committee meeting.

The Audit Committee is monitoring the outcome of audit 
market reform initiatives and accordingly will modify its 
approach as required.
Key discussions in the year.
The Committee carried out a number of in-depth reviews of 
specific principal risk areas this year, considered emerging risks 
and reported its findings and recommendations to the Board. 
The Committee received updates from management in relation to 
the Group’s transformation programmes, technology, information 
security, data privacy, treasury, tax, pensions, insurance and key 
compliance risks and the controls and mitigating actions employed 
in each of these areas, which support the Group’s overall strategy 
and culture. The Committee has assessed the effectiveness of the 
Group’s whistleblowing arrangements and reviewed compliance 
with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP).

The Committee received update reports during the year from the 
Tesco Bank Audit Committee, the Disclosure Committee and the 
Group Risk and Compliance Committee.

The Committee monitors the activity, role and effectiveness of 
internal audit (GAA), detailed on page 59, and at each meeting 
we receive an update covering a range of management issues, 
including periodic reviews of the employment of former auditor 
employees and non-audit services policies, the internal audit 
charter, 2019/20 audit plan and executive expenses.

GAA provided regular updates on its work, including findings 
from its internal audit programme and the status of management 
actions to address such findings. The Committee continues to 
focus on Group transformation and internal controls and receives 
regular updates from GAA on the work that is being undertaken 
to review and strengthen the Group’s processes in these areas.

Additionally, at each meeting we consider reports from our 
external auditor, Deloitte, in relation to their interim and  
year-end reports, audit plan, audit fees and non-audit services, 
early warning report, management letter observations and 
updates on their ongoing audit work.

Statutory reporting: 
The Committee has considered the Group’s 2017/18 preliminary 
results and 2018 Annual Report, the 2018/19 interim financial 
statements, a comprehensive report from the Group’s Disclosure 
Committee on fair, balanced and understandable reviews, the 
Group’s compliance with relevant regulatory frameworks and 
validation of management’s representations to Deloitte.

The Committee is responsible for assisting the Board’s oversight 
of the quality and integrity of the Company’s financial reporting and 
the Company’s accounting policies and practices. During the year, 
the Committee has continued to receive updates regarding the 
Group’s ongoing Finance Transformation programme and any 
actions taken to address observations raised by Deloitte in its 
letter to management following completion of the 2017/18 audit. 
A number of recommendations have been implemented to further 
enhance the Group’s financial reporting systems and controls 
environment. The Committee has also received regular updates, 
including from GAA and Group Finance directors, on the 
development and effectiveness of the Group’s key internal 
financial controls.

In relation to the financial statements, the Committee reviewed 
and recommended approval of the half-year results, the Group’s 
approach to IFRS 16 disclosure and these annual financial 
statements, considered impairment reviews, the viability and 
going concern statements and their underlying assumptions and 
the longer-term prospects, reviewed the Group’s distributable 
reserves position in advance of the declaration of dividends, 
reviewed corporate governance disclosures and monitored the 
statutory audit. As part of its review of the financial statements, 
the Committee considered, and challenged as appropriate, the 
accounting policies and significant judgements and estimates 
underpinning the financial statements. Details regarding the 
significant financial reporting matters and how they were 
addressed by the Committee are set out later in this report.

Liability Management: 
During the year, the Group has undertaken two successful 
tender exercises in relation to its outstanding bonds resulting 
in £52m of annualised interest savings. In October 2018, the 
Committee oversaw the Group’s well-positioned issue of new 
five-year bonds, the first issuance since June 2014. 

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

57

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

IFRS 16 ‘Leases’:
At each meeting, the Committee received an update in relation to 
the Group’s proposed approach to the IFRS 16 reporting standard. 
The Committee regularly reviewed the controls in place to ensure 
the robustness of lease data required to support IFRS 16 
calculations across the Group’s UK and international estate and 
establishment of systems and processes required for accounting 
and reporting under IFRS 16. The Committee reviewed the Group’s 
impairment model and discussed the broader reporting impacts of 
IFRS 16 on reported assets, liabilities and the Group income 
statement, as well as the classification of cash flows relating to 
lease contracts. As announced on 15 February 2019, the Group has 
adopted IFRS 16 retrospectively, with comparatives restated from 
a transition date of 25 February 2018. Further information can be 
found in Note 36 to this Annual Report.

Issue
Valuation of 
China associate 
and India joint 
venture

IT General Controls:
The Committee has continued to monitor the Group’s progress 
against its IT remediation, data collection processes and 
transformation plans. The Committee receives regular risk updates 
from Technology, the internal and external auditors which were 
discussed in the context of the Group’s risk appetite. See our 
Technology risk on page 34 of this Annual Report.
Significant financial statement reporting issues.

Pensions

Business 
acquisition

Issue
Going concern 
basis for the 
financial 
statements 
and viability 
statement

Fixed asset 
impairment and 
onerous lease 
provisions

How the issue was  
addressed by the Committee
The Committee reviewed and challenged 
management’s assessment of going concern, 
longer-term prospects and viability statement 
with consideration of forecast cash flows, 
including sensitivity to trading and expenditure 
plans and potential mitigating actions and 
considering any impacts of the uncertainties 
arising from Brexit. The Committee also 
considered the Group’s financing facilities and 
future funding plans. Based on this, the 
Committee confirmed that the application of 
the going concern basis for the preparation 
of the financial statements continued to be 
appropriate, and recommended the approval 
of the viability statement. For further 
information see page 37 of this Annual Report.

The Committee reviewed and challenged 
management’s impairment testing of property 
and technology assets and estimate of onerous 
lease provisions. The Committee considered the 
appropriateness of key assumptions and 
methodologies for both value in use models 
and fair value measurements. This included 
challenging projected cash flows, growth rates, 
discount rates and the use of independent third 
party valuations and considering any impacts of 
the uncertainties arising from Brexit. For further 
information see page 37 of this Annual Report. 
The Group has recognised a £73m net reversal 
of impaired PPE assets, together with an 
onerous property lease provision net charge of 
£47m and a £16m net impairment loss for 
software and other intangible assets. See Note 
10 to the financial statements for software and 
other intangible assets impairment, Note 11 for 
PPE assets impairment and Note 25 for 
property provisions. 

58

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

How the issue was  
addressed by the Committee
The Committee reviewed management’s 
assessment of the valuation of the Group’s 
China associate, Gain Land Limited, and India 
joint venture, Trent Hypermarket Private 
Limited, covering the methodology and 
assumptions used by management, including 
latest market information, in determining the 
fair value of the investment. This included 
review of Gain Land’s and Trent’s projected 
cash flows, growth rates and discount rates 
used and the external market indicators to 
include in the valuation. The carrying value 
was supported by the valuation. See Note 13 
to the financial statements.

The Committee reviewed and challenged the 
estimates used by management in valuing 
pension liabilities, principally the discount rate, 
including the impact of guaranteed minimum 
pension equalisation in the year. See Note 27 
to the financial statements.

The Committee considered the key judgements 
made by management in accounting for the 
Booker acquisition, including the valuation of 
assets acquired and liabilities assumed 
resulting in the recognition of goodwill and 
acquired intangible assets. The Committee also 
considered the allocation of goodwill to, and 
impairment testing of goodwill at, the UK group 
of cash-generating units and the presentation 
of Booker within the UK & ROI segment. See 
Notes 1, 7 and 31 to the financial statements.

The Committee further considered 
management’s assessment of the status of 
ongoing regulatory investigations and litigation 
relating to prior periods. The Committee 
concurred with management’s assessment 
that due to the stage of the remaining matters 
and the uncertainties regarding the outcomes, 
no provision was required, and disclosure as 
contingent liabilities at the year end was 
appropriate. See Note 32 to the financial 
statements.

Contingent  
liabilities

Recognition 
and disclosure 
of commercial 
income

The Committee reviewed management’s 
assessment of the controls that exist over 
the recognition of commercial income and 
considered the appropriateness of accounting 
judgements therein adopted. See Notes 1 and 20 
to the financial statements.

Issue
Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation of 
acquired 
intangibles

New accounting 
standards

How the issue was  
addressed by the Committee
The Committee considered the presentation 
of the Group’s financial statements and, in 
particular, the appropriateness of the 
presentation of exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles. The 
Committee reviewed the nature of items 
identified and concurred with management 
that the treatment was even-handed and 
consistently applied across years and 
appropriately presented. Consideration was 
also given to the quality of earnings within 
underlying results. See Note 4 to the financial 
statements.

The Committee considered the transition 
approach and impact of implementing IFRS 9 
‘Financial Instruments’ and IFRS 15 ‘Revenue 
from Contracts with Customers’ in the period, 
covering judgements made including the 
determination of expected credit losses for 
Tesco Bank financial assets. The Committee 
also considered the impact of IFRS 16 ‘Leases’, 
on the Group’s financial reporting. The 
Committee considered the key judgements 
made in determining the impact of IFRS 16 
and reviewed and challenged management’s 
communication and presentation of the 
impacts. See Note 35 to the financial 
statements.

Internal	audit	–	Group	Audit	and	Advisory	(GAA).
GAA is an independent assurance function within Tesco providing 
services to the Board and all levels of management. Its remit is 
to provide independent and objective assurance and advice to 
provide insight, deliver value, protect and help the organisation 
achieve its priorities. GAA helps the organisation accomplish its 
objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to 
evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, 
control and governance processes.

GAA’s responsibilities include supporting management in the 
assessment and mitigation of risks to protect the business, 
delivering the Annual Audit Plan as well as reporting on the 
effectiveness of the systems of internal control. Management 
are responsible for: establishing and maintaining an appropriate 
system of risk identification and internal control; and for the 
prevention and detection of irregularities and fraud. GAA 
facilitates the Group’s risk management processes with the 
Audit Committee and the Board.

In February 2019, the Committee conducted an assessment of 
the effectiveness of the GAA function in protecting the business. 
This assessment was facilitated by Lintstock Ltd, an independent 
company, who distributed a questionnaire-based assessment to 
key stakeholders, collated the anonymous responses and provided 
the assessment reports. This assessment included consideration 
of the structure and scope of GAA’s work, its capabilities, 
independence, the adequacy of the audit plan, quality of audit 
reports and its engagement with stakeholders.

The Committee discussed the approach and findings in which 
the overall assessment concluded that GAA was highly effective, 
with improved ratings across all measures. Improvements noted 
included clarity of audit findings, enhancements in sharing 
learnings and improved stakeholder relationships. The 
Committee also concluded that GAA is adequately resourced. 
Aspects highlighted to focus on included continuing to enhance 
capability in the area of technology to keep pace with advances 
and ensuring that dedicated resource is available to work on 
major change programmes. 

The Committee reviewed and agreed to the planned next steps 
which would be reflected in the GAA Charter, last reviewed and 
approved in November 2018 when the Internal Audit Plan for 
2019/20 was also presented and agreed by the Committee. 
The Internal Audit Plan will be kept under review to ensure, 
where necessary, it adapts appropriately to the changing 
needs of the business.
Key elements of the risk management process.
The risk management process enables the identification, 
assessment and prioritisation of risks through workshops and 
discussions with business leaders. Risks are reviewed at business 
unit risk and compliance committees and other delegated senior 
leadership committees to ensure that they continue to remain 
relevant. During the year, the significant risks have been reviewed 
as a top-down and bottom-up process at both the business unit 
and the Group level to ensure awareness, agreement and 
appropriate prioritisation. A risk that can seriously affect the 
performance, future prospects or reputation of the Group is 
termed a principal risk and these risks are aligned to the Group’s 
strategic drivers set out on pages 14 and 15.

Risks are assessed to determine the potential impact and likelihood 
of occurrence, after taking into account controls and mitigating 
factors. Where appropriate, additional mitigating actions are 
identified and agreed with relevant business owners.

The Group Chief Executive has overall accountability for the control 
and management of the risks Tesco faces, with the Board having 
overall responsibility for risk management. Risks are managed at 
the business unit level on an ongoing basis with follow up 
throughout the year by GAA and assigned risk champions and 
functional risk managers. All risks are assigned to an appropriate 
risk owner and the Group level principal risks are assigned to an 
executive owner. The Board receives a risk report, including 
principal risks and areas of emerging risks which are reviewed at 
least annually. The Group’s principal risks are detailed on pages 32 
to 36, showing a summary of key controls and mitigating factors, 
the risk movement and links to the Group’s strategic drivers.
Internal control.
The Board monitors the key elements of the Group’s internal 
control framework throughout the year and has conducted a 
review of the effectiveness of the Group’s risk management 
and internal control systems. To support the Board’s annual 
assessment, GAA prepared a report on the Group’s principal 
risks and internal controls, which described the risk 
management systems and key internal controls, as well as 
work conducted in the year to improve the risk and control 
environment including the level of assurance undertaken.

The internal control framework is intended to manage rather 
than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives. 
It can only provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance 
against material misstatement or loss.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

59

Corporate governanceCorporate governance report continued

External audit.
Deloitte continued as our external auditor with Panos Kakoullis 
as the lead partner after their initial appointment in the 2015/16 
financial year. It is our intention to put the external audit out to 
tender every 10 years and to rotate the lead partner at least 
every five years. Panos has informed the Committee that he will 
be retiring as a partner from Deloitte during 2019 and a new lead 
partner will therefore transition into this role in the first quarter 
of the 2019/20 financial year.

The Committee regularly reviews the role of the external auditor 
and the scope of their audit. The Committee considers the 
effectiveness of the external auditor on an ongoing basis during 
the year, considering, amongst other things, its independence, 
objectivity, appropriate mindset and professional scepticism, 
through its own observations and interactions with the external 
auditor, and having regard to the:

 – experience and expertise of the external auditor in their direct 

communication with, and support to, the Committee;

 – content, quality of insights and value of their reports;

 – fulfilment of the agreed external audit plan;

 – robustness and perceptiveness of the external auditor in their 

handling of key accounting and audit judgements;

 – the interaction between management and the external auditor, 
including ensuring that management dedicates sufficient time 
to the audit process;

 – provision of non-audit services, as set out below;

 – review and consideration of the results of the evaluation of 

the effectiveness of the external auditor; and

 – other relevant UK professional and regulatory requirements.

The Committee conducted an audit effectiveness review of 
Deloitte in February 2019, which was facilitated by an independent 
company, Lintstock Ltd, who distributed a questionnaire-based 
assessment to key stakeholders, collated the anonymous 
responses and provided assessment reports containing territory 
or business specific feedback to facilitate the evolution of services 
provided to the Group. The review concluded that the external 
auditor was highly effective and the Committee recommended to 
the Board the reappointment of Deloitte at the 2019 AGM.

Deloitte contributed a further independent perspective on certain 
aspects of the Group’s financial control systems arising from their 
work, and reported both to the Board and the Committee.

The process for approving all non-audit work provided by the 
external auditor is overseen by the Committee in order to 
safeguard the objectivity and independence of the auditor, 
and compliance with regulatory and ethical guidance. 
Where Deloitte has been chosen, this is as a result of their 
demonstrating the relevant skills and experience to make it 
an appropriate supplier to undertake the work in a  
cost-effective manner.

Our policy for non-audit services reflects the EU regulations that 
prohibit the provision of certain non-audit services, such as payroll 
services, by the external auditor and introduces a cap on non-audit 
fees. In line with the regulations, the Group is required to cap the 
level of non-audit fees paid to its external auditor at 70% of the 
average audit fees paid in the previous three consecutive financial 
years. The 70% cap will first apply to the Group for the period 
ending February 2021. The non-audit fees policy is compliant 
with new Ethical Standards for Auditors.

In 2018/19, Deloitte received total fees of £12.0m (2017/18: £13.5m) 
consisting of £8.0m of audit fees (2017/18: £6.8m), and £4.0m for 
non-audit and audit-related services (2017/18: £6.7m), which is 
a decrease of £2.7m in total fees versus the previous period. 
The total of Deloitte’s non-audit and audit-related fees in the 
year equated to 50% of the audit fees. Fees paid to Deloitte 
are set out in Note 3 to the financial statements and details of 
the significant non-audit work undertaken this year are set out 
in the table on page 61.

In the period, Deloitte continued to report under the court 
approved Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Tesco Stores 
Limited. Safeguards were put in place to mitigate any threats to 
Deloitte’s independence by ensuring that work was conducted 
by individuals not directly involved in the external audit.

We continue to take steps to reduce the level of non-audit 
fees going forward to ensure compliance with the 70%  
non-audit fee cap rules.

60

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Nature of service

Safeguards to preserve independence

Provision of transactional services: including 
quantified financial benefits synergy, working 
capital and profit forecast reporting, relating to 
the Group’s merger with the Booker Group
Retail consultancy: provision of administrative 
support relating to the Group’s markdown price 
optimisation process*
Forensic services: provision of data repository 
services for information needed by the Group 
and the SFO*

SFO Monitor role: Deloitte has been appointed 
as Monitor by the SFO under the Deferred 
Prosecution Agreement agreed with Tesco 
Stores Limited
Other non-audit services: tax compliance and 
advisory projects relating to businesses outside 
of the EU and other miscellaneous risk and 
compliance services

Interim review performed under International 
Standards of Review Engagements (UK and 
Ireland) 2410
Total

Engagement team separate to the audit team with independent 
reviews and working with informed management.

Engagement team separate to the audit team. The service is 
limited to the provision of administrative support.  
Decision-making accountability remained with management.†
Careful consideration of the scope of services to ensure the 
advocacy and management threats are mitigated, together with 
working with informed management. Clear separation of the 
engagement teams has also been established.
Under the Deferred Prosecution Agreement Deloitte were 
appointed to conduct independent reviews by individuals 
not directly involved in the commercial income audits.

Careful consideration of the scope of services to ensure the 
advocacy and management threats are mitigated, together with 
working with informed management. Clear separation of the 
engagement teams has also been established where required. 
From March 2017, no tax services have been provided to entities 
within the EU as required by the applicable Ethical Standards.

The interim review is considered a non-audit service under the 
applicable Ethical Standards, although the objectives of the 
review are aligned with those of the audit.

Level of fees  
in 2018/19 
(£m)

Level of fees 
in 2017/18  
(£m)

–

 1.3

1.7

1.9

1.5

1.8

0.1

0.8

0.4

0.2

0.5

4.0

0.5

6.7

Committee effectiveness review.
The effectiveness of the Committee was evaluated this year as 
part of the Board evaluation process. Further details can be 
found on page 51. The review found that the Committee was 
operating effectively and that its broad role and remit remained 
appropriate for the current needs of the business. In order to 
identify opportunities for further improvement, members 
discussed how the Committee is functioning in the private 
sessions that follow each meeting.

*  engagement pre-dates Deloitte’s appointment as external auditor.

†  Deloitte’s work concluded in January 2019.
Appointment of auditor statement.
Following a formal tender process, Deloitte were appointed as 
external auditor with effect from the 2015 AGM. The Company is in 
compliance with the requirements of The Statutory Audit Services 
for Large Companies Market Investigation (Mandatory Use of 
Competitive Tender Processes and Audit Responsibilities) Order 
2014, which relates to the frequency and governance of external 
audit tenders and the setting of a policy on the provision of 
non-audit services. The Committee reviews and makes a 
recommendation to the Board with regard to the reappointment 
of the external auditor each year. In making this recommendation, 
the Committee considers auditor effectiveness and independence, 
partner rotation and any other factors that may impact the 
Committee’s judgement regarding the external auditor. The 
Company intends to conduct a tender process in line with the 
regulations and by no later than 2025.
Fair, balanced and understandable statement.
The Committee considered this Annual Report and Financial 
Statements 2019, taken as a whole, and concluded that the 
disclosures, as well as the processes and controls underlying its 
production, were appropriate and recommended to the Board that 
the Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019 are fair, balanced 
and understandable while providing the necessary information to 
assess the Company’s position and performance, business 
model and strategy.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

61

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report

Annual statement.

“Our remuneration policy 
ensures colleagues are fairly 
rewarded and we remain 
sensitive to the broad range 
of remuneration themes 
important to our 
stakeholders.”

Steve Golsby
Remuneration  
Committee Chair

Dear Shareholder.
I am pleased to present my first Directors’ remuneration report 
as Chair of the Committee, having taken over the role from 
Deanna Oppenheimer on 1 February 2019. Deanna had chaired the 
Committee since 2015 and I would like to take this opportunity to 
thank her on behalf of the Board for her excellent work as Chair 
and her support to me personally. I am delighted Deanna will be 
remaining on the Committee, so that we can continue to benefit 
from her experience and advice.

This Report provides an update on our progress in implementing 
the remuneration policy approved at the June 2018 AGM. The 
Committee appreciated the high level of shareholder support the 
remuneration policy received of over 93% in favour and the continuing 
constructive dialogue it has had with a number of shareholders, their 
representative bodies and the wider stakeholder group. No changes 
are proposed to the remuneration policy for 2019/20. 

The Committee has followed closely the continuing debate on 
executive remuneration, fairness and corporate culture. Since the 
AGM, the Committee has reviewed the remuneration policy and 
its implementation, taking account of the UK Corporate Governance 
Code 2018 (2018 Code) and associated Guidance on Board 
Effectiveness, and the Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) 
Regulations 2018. It takes seriously its role in ensuring the interests of 
colleagues, shareholders and other key stakeholders are considered 
fairly, and in the context of wider societal expectations. Although the 
Committee will not be required to report on the provisions of the 
2018 Code and Miscellaneous Reporting Regulations until 2020, the 
Committee welcomes these developments and has decided to 
adopt as much as practically possible early, including providing 
details of the CEO pay ratio. Overall, the Committee believes the 
remuneration policy is operating well and as expected.
Remuneration alignment to strategy.
The Committee considers in detail the performance metrics and 
targets for the annual bonus and Performance Share Plan (PSP) to 
ensure they are appropriate and support the Group’s strategy, and 
create value for stakeholders. In last year’s remuneration policy 
review, the Committee decided to make some changes to improve 
strategic alignment and aid simplicity. For the annual bonus, the 
financial metrics of sales growth and Group operating profit before 
exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles were 
retained, but balanced equally, while strategic objectives were set 
as a further annual performance metric, including key stakeholder 
measures relating to customers, suppliers and colleagues. For the 
PSP, performance metrics were simplified from three to two. From 
2018, PSP performance metrics are free cash flow and diluted EPS 
pre-exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, 
IAS 19 finance costs and IAS 39 fair value remeasurements 
(subsequently referred to as EPS* in this Report). 

The way in which the remuneration policy aligns with and supports 
Tesco’s strategy and the delivery of the Big 6 KPIs is set out 
opposite and further information is available on pages 16 and 17.

62

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

KPIs
Group sales(a)Δ 
Group operating 
profit before 
exceptional items 
and amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles (b)Δ
Retail operating cash 
flow(b)Δ
Customers 
recommend us 
and come back 
time and again
Colleagues 
recommend us as a:
Great place to work
Great place to shop
Supplier satisfaction

Year-on- 
year  
change 

Annual  
bonus 
performance 
measure

PSP 
performance 
measure

2018/19

2017/18(c)

£56.9bn

£51.0bn

11.5%

£2,206m £1,646m 34.0%

£2.5bn

£2.8bn

(9.8)%

17pts

12pts

5pts

83%

50pts

77.5%

83%

49pts

Nil

1pt

74.9% 2.6pts

Δ   These measures and other measures in this section are defined in the alternative 

performance measures section of the Annual Report on pages 178 to 181.

(a)  Reported on a continuing operations basis at actual exchange rates, excluding fuel.
(b)  Reported on a continuing operations basis at actual exchange rates.
(c)  Last year figures restated for impact of IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’.

2018/19 incentive outcomes.
During the year, Tesco delivered a strong performance against a 
backdrop of a challenging market and increased customer uncertainty. 
The Group remains firmly on track to deliver on its six strategic drivers:

 – brand health continues to strengthen, with the YouGov Brand 

perception measures of quality and value increasing by 1.9 points 
and 1.3 points, respectively;

 –  cost savings of £532m were achieved in the year generating a 

total of £1.4bn towards the £1.5bn target;

 –  £2.5bn of retail operating cash flow(a) was generated, with £8.6bn 

of retail operating cash(b) generated over three years;

 –  operating margin improved to 3.45% for the full year and 3.96% 

in H2 2018/19 (3.79% excluding Booker);

 –  a further £285m was released from property; and

 –  innovation continued, including introducing eight new 

‘Exclusively at Tesco’ brands, the relaunch of 10,000 Own Brand 
products and Jack’s launched as part of our 100 years of 
great value celebrations.

Tesco’s annual bonus and PSP plans together reward the 
achievement of Group, stakeholder and personal targets, provided 
performance is delivered within the Company’s risk appetite. The 
Committee scrutinises performance targets, which are based on the 
Board-approved annual budget and Long Term Plan, to ensure they 
are sufficiently challenging. Stretching performance ranges are then 
agreed by the Committee at the start of the performance period. 
During the performance period, the Committee reviewed a number 
of unplanned and unexpected items and agreed changes to the cash 
generation and EPS* targets as set out on page 72.

Annual bonus outcomes for 2018/19 have been determined based 
on Tesco’s performance over the year in sales growth (40% 
weighting), Group operating profit before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles (40% weighting) and strategic 
objectives (20% weighting). For consistency, sales and operating 
profit are translated at constant exchange rates and have been 
adjusted as set out later in this Annual Statement and on page 72, 
resulting in sales of £56.7bn and operating profit of £2,222m.

The financial outcomes are slightly above target performance for 
operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of 

acquired intangibles and between threshold and target for sales 
growth, which reflect the very demanding nature of the targets 
set. This was a good performance given the challenging external 
environment and a background of intense competition. The 
Committee also reviewed the performance of the Executive 
Directors against their individual objectives. As a result, the 
Committee determined that 52.5% and 49.4% of the maximum bonus 
opportunity should be awarded for Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart, 
respectively. A summary breakdown of the targets and performance 
assessments is provided in At a glance on pages 66 and 67.

The 2016 PSP performance period ran to the end of the 2018/19 
financial year. Performance was measured against three metrics, 
with 50% subject to Tesco’s relative Total Shareholder Return 
(TSR) performance, 30% subject to cumulative cash generated 
from retail operations and the remaining 20% subject to key 
stakeholder measures relating to customers, suppliers and 
colleagues. Performance was as follows:

 – Tesco’s TSR ranked below the weighted average of the 
blended benchmark index. This element vested at nil;

 – cumulative cash generated from retail operations over three 

years of £8,379m was in line with target performance of £8,398m. 
This element vested at 14.6% of maximum opportunity; and

 – performance against the three stakeholder measures of 

customer, supplier and colleague metrics vested at 14.2% of 
maximum opportunity.

As reported previously, buyout awards were made to Alan Stewart to 
compensate him for awards forfeited on leaving his previous employer. 
The final tranche of those buyout awards vested to him in July 2018.

As previously announced, Charles Wilson, who joined the Board as 
CEO, UK & ROI on 5 March 2018, stepped down from the Board on 
16 July 2018 due to illness. I am pleased that Charles’ recovery is going 
well and he remains on the Executive Committee. As Charles was an 
Executive Director for part of the year we are required to disclose 
some details on his pay arrangements. Given he was on the Board for 
a short portion of the year, we have disclosed this separately from 
Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart and full details can be found on page 72. 
Rationale for Committee decisions in the year.
The Committee is responsible for all executive employment 
matters: recruiting, promoting and retaining high-calibre leaders, 
setting the incentives under which these leaders operate, and 
monitoring the results they produce and the manner in which they 
produce them. The overall remuneration framework has a number 
of specific goals. It is designed to motivate the leadership team to 
achieve the Company’s strategic objectives, to lead and incentivise 
colleagues, and to drive value for shareholders and other 
stakeholders. It is also designed to be competitive in the markets 
in which we operate and compete for talent. 

The Committee’s discussions took place against a backdrop of the 
wider economy and retail market in which the Company operates 
and specific Company performance. The Committee considered 
adjustments to the annual bonus outcome to take account of 
events which were not foreseen or allowed for at the start of the 
year when targets were set. The Committee decided to take the 
sales and profit numbers of Tesco Direct out from both targets 
and actuals following its closure, and to adjust for Board approved 
strategic decisions and legal changes in Central Europe during the 
year. These adjustments resulted in a revision of the sales target 
by less than 1% and an increase in the profit target. The resultant 
formulaic assessment of the financial metrics of the annual bonus 
was 35.9% out of a maximum of 80% for both Executive Directors 
(the remaining 20% is assessed against strategic objectives which 
are set out on page 67). The Committee considered this to be 
appropriate and made no changes to this outcome. The Committee 
also considered the PSP formulaic outturn of 28.8%. Whilst 
acknowledging that this level of vesting under the PSP did not 
fully reflect the Group’s strong performance over the three-year 
performance period, the Committee determined that no 
adjustments would be made to the formulaic outcomes for 
the Executive Directors. 

Implementation of the remuneration policy in  
2019/20 and fairness.
The Committee remains sensitive to the issues affecting executive 
remuneration and the views expressed by investors, the UK 
government and the wider public, particularly regarding restraint 
when setting quantum. The Committee believes such restraint is the 
right approach, while ensuring remuneration remains reflective of 
the wider business environment and contains appropriate incentives 
for senior executives to achieve the Group’s business objectives. In 
keeping with this theme, for 2019/20, no base salary increases will be 
awarded to either Executive Director. The maximum annual bonus 
opportunities for Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart will remain unchanged 
at 250% and 225% of base salary, respectively. The approved 
remuneration policy states that the maximum PSP opportunity is 
350% of base salary. The Committee has decided to increase the 
standard grant value of Alan Stewart’s PSP from 250% to 275% of base 
salary. This brings his PSP opportunity in line with Dave Lewis and is 
designed to ensure that Alan Stewart’s remuneration package 
remains market competitive, while recognising the value of the role 
and his skills and experience. This also ensures that the link between 
long-term business performance and reward outcomes is maintained.

The performance measures for the 2019 PSP are unchanged from 
2018, with a 50% weighting each for EPS* and free cash flow. The 
Committee reviewed the selection and weighting of the financial 
metrics for the annual bonus. The Committee concluded that while 
the two financial metrics, Group operating profit before exceptional 
items and amortisation of acquired intangibles and sales growth, 
remain the right ones, they should now be weighted 50% and 30% 
respectively (previously both 40%). This change was made to 
recognise the emphasis on profitability, following the initial 
revenue growth focus of the turnaround plan.

The Committee will keep emerging market practice and investor 
expectations under review as the next remuneration policy 
approval in 2021 approaches. However, the Committee is taking 
some immediate steps to enhance the application of the existing 
remuneration policy from 2019 as described below:

 – introducing post-employment shareholding requirements for 

all current and future Executive Directors; and

 – amending how the holding period on the PSP operates for leavers. 
Shares awarded under a PSP grant from 2019 onwards now cannot 
be sold until five years from grant, even for a good leaver.

The Committee has considered the new requirement that pension 
contributions for Executive Directors should be aligned with those 
offered to the wider workforce. As part of the Committee’s 2018 
review of the remuneration policy the level of contribution to 
pension or cash in lieu of pension for new Executive Directors and 
Executive Committee members was reduced to 15% of base salary 
and a number of new appointments have been made on this basis. 
This level of contribution is aligned with the contributions to 
pension for all UK colleagues at middle management and above 
(some 1,800 colleagues). The Committee believes this provides the 
right measure of alignment with the wider workforce.
2019	Annual	General	Meeting.
I look forward to welcoming you to the 2019 AGM and hope you will 
support the resolution relating to remuneration.

Steve Golsby
Remuneration Committee Chair

(a)  Net debt, retail operating cash flow and retail free cash flow exclude the  

impact of Tesco Bank.

(b)  Cumulative retail cash generated from operations excluding pension deficit 

repayments, cash outflows relating to SFO fine and shareholder compensation 
scheme payments and cash payments in lieu of colleague bonus shares.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

63

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report continued

Reward principles.

The principles of a fair workplace.
Tesco’s purpose is to serve shoppers a little better every day. 
To live up to that purpose our colleagues need to reflect and 
represent the communities we serve. Tesco aims to be a place 
where colleagues can get on, as they wish, no matter what their 
background. We are proud of our long history of helping 
colleagues develop their careers in Tesco.

To continue building an inclusive culture where everyone feels 
welcome, it is important that colleagues feel fairly rewarded. 
We have clear principles for a fair workplace against which we 
measure ourselves. When we are successful colleagues can expect:

Element  
of pay

Annual  
bonus

 – a total reward package that provides flexibility and choice, and 

is competitive in the markets in which Tesco operates and from 
which it recruits for talent;

Performance 
Share Plan

Executive 
Committee 
and WL4-5

WL 
1-3

Purpose

The opportunity for colleagues to receive 
an annual bonus for the delivery of 
business and personal goals. Annual 
bonus opportunity provides colleagues 
with a balance between fixed and variable 
pay related to market practice based on 
role. At senior levels a proportion of any 
bonus is deferred into Tesco PLC shares 
to provide additional alignment with 
shareholders’ experience.
Colleagues with responsibility for 
long-term Group performance are 
incentivised to achieve Tesco’s strategy 
and create sustainable shareholder value.

 – to share in Tesco’s success and be recognised for their 

contributions through pay that is transparent; 

 – rewards that can help support a decent standard of living 

and provide the opportunity to plan and save for the future; 

 – to make wellbeing and lifestyle choices, having access to a range 
of benefits and flexibility over working hours and place of work;

 – to have access to career opportunities and accredited training 

to develop their potential whatever their age or background; and

 – through Tesco’s consultative forums, trade union partnerships 

and colleague surveys to have their voice heard and represented 
at all levels, and access to information about what is happening 
in the business.

Rewarding our colleagues fairly.
Tesco provides colleagues across the Group with a competitive 
reward package. In Tesco’s UK business in 2018/19 colleagues 
received a reward and benefits package in line with the elements 
set out in the table below. The purpose of each element is the 
same for all colleagues, which creates a consistent cascade 
throughout the organisation. 

Executive 
Committee 
and WL4-5

WL 
1-3

Element  
of pay

Base salary

Benefits

Pension

Purpose

Base salary supports the recruitment and 
retention of colleagues of the calibre, 
capability and experience needed to 
perform their role. Base salary provides 
fixed remuneration and reflects the size, 
scope and complexity of individual role 
responsibilities.
A market-competitive level of benefits 
for colleagues, which enhance the 
reward package and provide other 
reasons to work at Tesco, such as 
discount in store.
The opportunity to save for retirement, 
with the employing company providing a 
match to employee contributions.

64

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

The balance between the different elements of remuneration 
depends largely on the role and seniority of colleagues. Junior 
colleagues’ remuneration is principally fixed pay, reflecting our 
principle of helping to support a decent standard of living, where 
regular pay levels help with personal budgeting and planning. 
For more senior colleagues, remuneration is weighted more 
towards variable pay, which can increase or decrease based on 
the performance achieved against our goals. This approach to 
pay design also reflects each individual’s ability to influence 
Tesco’s performance. We also take account of the requirements of 
the UK Corporate Governance Code and the views of our investors 
and other external bodies, as evidenced by the letter from the 
Committee Chair to major investors informing them of the intention 
to increase the standard grant value of Alan Stewart’s PSP award. 

So while the balance of the elements of remuneration may 
differ, we have a consistent overall principle that all colleagues 
should be paid competitively against the relevant pay benchmark.

Colleagues across the Group are regularly asked about how they 
feel about pay and benefits at Tesco. Our 2018 survey showed 
almost two-thirds agreed that the pay for the job they do is fair and 
three-quarters were happy with the benefits they receive. Both 
outcomes were well ahead of relevant external benchmarks, but 
we continue to invest in ensuring we remain an employer of choice.
How our principles are brought to life.
We are committed to providing colleagues with equal access to 
opportunities, skills, flexibility and fair reward. We are putting 
more of our learning online, creating more choices on flexible 
working and providing support and guidance for colleagues to 
own their own careers. 

Over the last year, Tesco has continued to focus on building a 
fair workplace, providing colleagues with the flexibility, skills and 
reward to get on as part of our overall employee value proposition. 
This has included:

 –  Effective Leadership – We have introduced our Managing a 
Team at Tesco programme to help build leadership skills. 
It has supported over 1,300 managers in stores, distribution 
and convenience businesses to be at the heart of the colleague 
experience, helping their teams to be more effective and 
serve our shoppers a little better every day.

 –  Helping Colleagues be at their Best – We have worked with 
partners, such as Nuffield Health, to develop a wellbeing 
programme based on improved nutrition, a healthy body and 
healthy mind. Colleagues have accessed Mindapples e-learning 

Gender pay. 
Tesco’s first full gender pay gap report for the year to April 2017 
was published in February last year and we have recently 
published our second report for the year to April 2018. 

The 2018 report shows that the median gender pay gap of 8.9% has 
changed little since last year’s figure of 8.7%. It remains well below 
the UK national average of 17.9%. A key reason for the gap remains 
the different work pattern choices colleagues are making. Male 
colleagues are choosing to work premium hours (Sundays, bank 
holidays and night work), which attract higher rates of pay, more 
often than female colleagues. If these premium hour payments 
were to be removed from the calculation, then Tesco’s median 
gender pay gap would reduce to 3.1%. 

Tesco offers colleagues opportunity, choice and flexibility and will 
continue to support them in choosing work patterns that best suit 
their personal situation and preferences. At the same time, we will 
work to identify and remove any gender-related barriers to making 
those choices.

As a sign of our commitment to increasing female representation 
at senior levels, Tesco signed up as a member of the 30% Club in 
2018. By February 2019 the initial 30% ambition had been met, with 
31% of both the Board and Executive Committee being women. 
Women also make up 37% of our director and manager population. 
However, to maintain and increase this representation we know we 
need to do more for women earlier in their careers. That is why we 
launched last year a targeted development programme with a 
group of talented female colleagues who will be helped positively 
to drive their careers. In parallel, we are making as much of this 
development material as possible available to all our Tesco 
colleagues online, so everyone has the opportunity to benefit. 

In addition, our Women’s Network has developed a gender diversity 
partnership with a number of other companies to encourage 
women to own their career choices through mentoring, learning 
and helping to build a smarter working culture more attuned to 
the needs of a diverse workforce. We will continue to challenge 
ourselves to help more women to progress their careers at Tesco.

Further information is set out in the Tesco Gender 
Pay Gap Report at www.tescoplc.com/genderpay.

more than 20,000 times since it launched and over 800 UK 
colleagues have taken part in mental health awareness 
workshops aimed at tackling the stigma around mental health.

 – Building skills for the future – We are investing in our colleagues’ 
futures. In September 2018, we doubled our UK school leaver 
apprenticeship programme, and introduced a Finance 
apprenticeship and our first Apprentice Degree in Food Science 
and Technology. In Central Europe, we have 1,150 people on our 
apprenticeship scheme, spending half their week at college and 
half learning on the job at Tesco.

 – In Thailand, our Student Part-Time Programme scholarships 
allowed 800 colleagues to pursue higher education and our 
Tesco Junior Programme is helping a further 200 colleagues 
to earn a vocational degree while working.

 –  Developing Employability – In July 2018, we committed to help 

10,000 young people to improve their employability and life skills 
through Prince’s Trust Achieve Clubs. We will focus over three 
years on funding the running of 40 Achieve Clubs in areas of 
greatest need, developing content and lesson plans in customer 
service and leadership and bringing the content to life through 
volunteering opportunities for our colleagues.
CEO pay compared to pay of UK employees.
Tesco is a retail business with one of the largest workforces in the 
UK, employing over 300,000 colleagues, mostly in customer-facing 
roles in store or working in our distribution network. We apply the 
same reward principles for all – that overall remuneration should 
be competitive when compared to similar roles in other 
organisations from which we draw our talent. For customer-facing 
colleagues, we benchmark with other large retailers. For our CEO, 
we benchmark against a small and highly sought-after pool of CEOs 
of major companies with international reach and accountabilities. 

Given this workforce profile, all three of the CEO pay ratio 
reference points compare our CEO’s remuneration with that of 
colleagues in mainly customer-facing roles and there is relatively 
limited difference in the outcomes as shown below. Also, we know 
that year-to-year movements in the pay ratio will be driven largely 
by our CEO’s variable pay outcomes. These movements will 
significantly outweigh any other changes in pay within the 
organisation. Whatever the CEO pay ratio, Tesco will continue 
to invest in competitive pay for all colleagues.

The total pay and benefits of UK colleagues at the 25th, 50th and 75th 
percentile and the ratios between the CEO and these colleagues, 
using the CEO’s single total remuneration figure for 2018/19 of 
£4,600,000, are as follows:

Total pay and 
benefits (FTE)
CEO pay ratio

25th 
percentile 
pay ratio

£18,646

247:1

50th 
percentile 
pay ratio

£20,364

226:1

75th 
percentile 
pay ratio

£21,982

209:1

(a)  Tesco has chosen to use Option C to calculate its CEO pay ratio. This option was 
chosen given the size and complexity of the exercise required to produce these 
ratios in an environment of significant part-time employment and variable working 
hours. Tesco has already completed comprehensive data collation and analysis for 
the purposes of gender pay gap reporting. We were able to use additional pay data 
to minimise differences in pay definitions between the CEO single total remuneration 
figure and gender pay reporting. 

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

65

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report continued

Remuneration at a glance.

What our Executive Directors earned in 
2018/19.

Guided by our remuneration policy, which received over 93% of 
votes in favour at our 2018 AGM, we aim to reward responsibly and 
fairly so that all colleagues are rewarded competitively against the 
relevant pay benchmark for their role. This is a consistent principle, 
across every level of our business.

Tesco focuses on executive pay in the context of the overall spend 
on remuneration across the Group:

 – Between 2015/16 and 2018/19, we have invested significantly 
in pay for our customer-facing colleagues, and the hourly 
rate for UK store colleagues has increased by 14%. Over the 
same period, the base salaries of Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart 
have remained unchanged as set out in the chart on page 75.

 – Since July 2014, Executive Committee base salary costs as a 
proportion of the total Group spend on remuneration have 
fallen by a third and now represent 0.1% of total Group wage 
costs. At the same time, the average total reward package for 
colleagues across the Group, inclusive of variable pay outcomes, 
has risen by about 6.9%, as set out in the chart opposite.

 – Bonus awards to our Executive Directors are linked to 

performance, and the Committee remains sensitive to the 
views of investors and stakeholders, particularly regarding 
restraint when determining the potential size of awards. 

After four years, we have met or are about to meet the vast 
majority of our turnaround goals, and our business is on a 
more sustainable footing. Even with this strong performance, 
the annual bonus for Dave Lewis in 2018/19 vested at 52.5% 
of maximum opportunity, and at 49.4% for Alan Stewart.

Executive remuneration and all colleague costs 
110

100

90

80

70

60

01/07/2014

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Average cost of total reward – all colleagues – as a % of 1 July 2014
Executive Committee base salaries as a % of total Group wage 
costs – as a % of 1 July 2014 ratio

Single total figure of remuneration – Executive Directors (audited).
The following table provides a summary single total figure of remuneration for 2018/19 and 2017/18 for the Executive Directors.  
Further details are set out in the Annual report on remuneration commencing on page 70.

Dave Lewis

Alan Stewart

Base salary 
(£’000)

Benefits 
(£’000)

Pension 
(£’000)

Short-term 
annual 
bonus 
 (£’000)

Long-term 
Performance  
Share Plan 
(£’000)

1,250

1,250

750

750

61

65

59

53

313

313

188

188

1,641

2,275

834

1,248

1,335(b)

1,210(c)

728(b)

660(c)

Year

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

Total 
(£’000)

4,600

5,113

2,559

2,899

(a)  Details of the remuneration of Charles Wilson, who stood down from the Board on 16 July 2018, are set out on page 72.
(b)  The three-month average share price to 23 February 2019 of 210p has been used to indicate the value of the 2016 PSP, which will vest in May 2019. The value includes the reinvestment of 

dividends paid on vested shares, between grant and vest, in Tesco PLC shares. 

(c)  The value of the 2015 PSP has been updated to reflect the share price on the date of vesting of 256p. The value includes the reinvestment of dividends paid on vested shares, between 

grant and vest, in Tesco PLC shares. 

2016	PSP	vesting	(audited).
The PSP award granted in 2016 will vest in May 2019 based on performance up to and including the 2018/19 financial year.  
The performance outcome was as follows:

Metrics (% maximum)

Performance targets

Vesting level

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Actual 
performance

Payout  
(vesting level)

Payout 
(% of maximum)

Relative TSR(a) (50%)
Cash generation(b) (30%)

Stakeholder:

Customer (6.66%)
Supplier (6.66%)
Colleague:  
Great place to work (3.33%)
Great place to shop (3.33%)

Performance 
equal to the 
index

8% p.a. 
outperformance 
of the index

–

£7,998m £8,398m

£8,798m

2pts

70%

81%

41pts

–

–

–

–

24pts

82%

84%

47pts

25%

25%

0%

0%

0%

0%

–

50%

–

–

–

–

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Below index

£8,379m

17pts

77.5%

83%

50pts

0%

48.7%

68%

63%

66%

100%

0%

14.6%

4.5%

4.2%

2.2%

3.3%

(a)  TSR was assessed against a benchmark index made up of FTSE 350 Food and Drug Retailers (excluding Tesco) and FTSE 350 General Retailers weighted 85% and 15%, respectively.
(b)  Details of adjustments to the cash generation targets are set out on page 72.

Based on the above performance, 28.8% of the 2016 PSP awards will vest in May 2019. This will result in 635,814 shares and 346,807 shares 
vesting to Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart, respectively.

66

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Annual	bonus	outcomes	(audited).
The Committee determined that 52.5% and 49.4% of the maximum bonus opportunity be awarded to Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart, respectively. 
Actual profit performance exceeded the underpin. Performance against each of the objectives for 2018/19 was assessed as follows:
Financial	performance	in	2018/19	(80%	of	bonus	maximum)	(audited).
Sales growth (40% weighting).

Group operating profit (40% weighting).

Vesting

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Threshold

30%

50%

100%

0%

Target

50%

Stretch

100%

Performance 
required

£56,534m

£57,110m

£57,686m

£1,919m

£2,197m

£2,476m

Payout 

35.3%

Payout 

54.5%

Actual performance
£56,682m

Actual performance
£2,222m

(a)  For consistency, reported outcomes at constant exchange rates are used for incentive purposes.

Performance for the financial elements of the annual bonus has been positive, with sales growth being between threshold and target and 
Group operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles performance being between target and stretch.
Strategic objective performance in 2018/19 (20% of bonus maximum) (audited).
The Committee carefully reviewed the performance of the Executive Directors against their individual objectives set at the beginning of the financial 
year. Details of how their performance towards these objectives was assessed is set out below. Further details are provided on page 71.

Individual objectives: Dave Lewis.

Individual objectives: Alan Stewart.

China	JV	opportunities	(5%	weighting)

China	JV	opportunities	(5%	weighting)

Payout

66%

Payout

66%

Loyalty	(5%	weighting)

Payout

Finance	Transformation	(5%	weighting)

100%

Payout

38%

Delivery	of	Booker	synergies	(5%	weighting)

Delivery	of	Booker	synergies	(5%	weighting)

Payout

82%

Payout

82%

Stakeholder objectives (5% weighting): Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart.

Customer (1.66% weighting)

Supplier (1.66% weighting)

Colleague (Great place 
to work) (0.83% weighting)

Colleague (Great place 
to shop) (0.83% weighting)

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Payout

100%

Payout

100%

Payout

50%

Payout

50%

13pts

14pts

16pts

17pts

74.8%

74.9%

75%

77.5%

82%

83%

84%

48pts

50pts

52pts

Actual
performance

Actual
performance

Actual
performance

Actual
performance

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

67

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report continued

Directors’ remuneration 
policy.

Implementation in 2019/20.
We have reviewed our remuneration policy in the year, particularly in light of the amended 2018 Code. We will continue to implement the 
remuneration policy that was approved at the 2018 AGM. A summary of the proposed 2019/20 remuneration packages for the Executive 
Directors is set out below. The full remuneration policy, as approved at the 2018 AGM, can be found on the Tesco website at  
www.tescoplc.com/investors/corporate-governance.
Fixed pay.

Element of remuneration

Dave Lewis

Base salary
Pension

Annual bonus.

£1,250,000
Cash allowance in lieu of pension  
of 25% of base salary

Alan Stewart

£750,000
Cash allowance in lieu of pension  
of 25% of base salary

Quantum
Annual bonus deferral
Annual bonus performance metrics(a)

Dave Lewis

Alan Stewart

Maximum of 250% of base salary
50% of bonus awarded deferred into Tesco PLC shares for three years
Group operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles (50%), sales 
growth (30%), strategic objectives (20%) and Group operating profit before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles underpin 

Maximum of 225% of base salary

(a)  Annual bonus targets are considered by the Board to be commercially sensitive as they could inform Tesco’s competitors of its budgeting. Therefore, we do not publish details of the 

targets on a prospective basis. However, we will provide full and transparent disclosure of the targets and the performance against these targets on a retrospective basis in next year’s 
Annual Report at the same time that the bonus outcome is reported.

Performance share plan.

Quantum
PSP term

Dave Lewis

Alan Stewart

Maximum of 275% of base salary
Three-year performance period and two-year post-vest holding period

Maximum of 275% of base salary

PSP performance metrics  
and targets

Performance measure 
EPS*(a)(b)(d)
Free cash flow  
(three years)(a)(b)(c)

Weighting

50%

50%

Threshold (25%)

17.2p

Vesting level

Stretch (100%)

23.2p

£4,334m

£6,501m

(a)  EPS* and free cash flow targets have been adjusted for the impact of IFRS 16.
(b)  Both PSP performance measures have straight-line vesting between threshold and stretch.
(c)  The free cash flow target has been increased to include the impact of the additional year-end working capital balance, as disclosed in relation to the 2016 PSP award on page 72.
(d)  Threshold and stretch EPS* targets equate to compound growth of 7.6% and 18.9% per annum, respectively.

Minimum shareholding requirement.

Dave Lewis

Shareholding requirement

400% of base salary

Alan Stewart

300% of base salary

Summary of remuneration policy and proposed amendments.
A summary of the remuneration policy is shown below, along with a summary of the key changes to how the policy will be implemented in 2019/20:

Base 
salary

Remuneration policy

Key changes to the implementation of remuneration policy in 2019/20

 – Executive Directors receive a base salary based on the size and scope of their 

 – The Committee believes that the current base salary 

responsibilities and their experience.

 – Salaries are normally reviewed annually, with changes being effective from 1 July. 
 – Pay decisions are informed, but not driven, by external benchmarking and 

market data.

levels continue to be appropriate. The base salaries of 
Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart will remain unchanged in 
2019/20. This decision has been made alongside a 
review of colleague salaries. 

Benefits

 – Executive Directors receive a number of core benefits such as company  

car (or cash allowance), life assurance and health care insurance.

Pension 
provision

 – At the last policy review, we reduced our pension policy for new Executive 

Directors and Executive Committee members to 15% of base salary  
(from 25%), which is aligned with UK colleagues at middle management  
and above (about 1,800 colleagues).

 – Current Executive Directors receive a cash allowance in lieu of pension  

of 25% of base salary. 

Annual 
bonus

 – Executive Directors can be awarded an annual bonus of up to 250% of base salary. 
 – 50% of any bonus earned is deferred into Tesco PLC shares for three years. 
 – Performance is measured against financial and non-financial metrics.
 – Clawback and malus provisions apply.

 – The annual bonus metrics of Group operating profit 

before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired 
intangibles and sales growth have been retained, but 
the weighting has been changed to 50% and 30%, 
respectively (previously both 40%).

68

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Remuneration policy

Key changes to the implementation of remuneration policy in 2019/20

Performance 
Share Plan

 – Executive Directors can participate in a PSP with a maximum 

grant value of 350% of base salary.

 – Performance is measured against financial metrics over a 

three-year performance period. A subsequent two-year holding 
period applies post vesting. 

 – Clawback and malus provisions apply.

Shareholding 
requirements

 – The Group Chief Executive and the Chief Financial Officer are 
subject to a minimum shareholding requirement of 400% and 
300% of base salary, respectively.

 – The Chief Financial Officer’s PSP grant has been increased to 275% 
of base salary. This is in line with the Group Chief Executive’s award 
of 275% of base salary and is within the approved policy limits.

 – The approved remuneration policy is that any vested PSP shares must 
be held until the earlier of five years from grant or two years from 
leaving. From 2019 grants, this requirement has been strengthened 
such that all vested shares cannot be sold until five years from grant. 

 – The Committee noted the provision of the 2018 Code to have a 

policy on post-cessation shareholdings. A post-cessation holding 
requirement for Executive Directors was set at 100% of their 
shareholding requirement for one year, and 50% for the second 
year post departure. 

 – To ensure this requirement can be implemented over time, the 

Committee has decided that Executive Directors will be required 
to sign an undertaking in this respect.

Scenario charts.
The total remuneration opportunity of the Executive Directors is strongly performance based and weighted to the long term. The graphs 
below illustrate scenarios for the projected total remuneration of Executive Directors at three different levels of performance: minimum, 
on-target and maximum. Note that the projected values exclude the impact of any share price movements or potential benefits under 
all-employee share schemes. These charts reflect projected remuneration for the financial year 2019/20.

Group Chief Executive – Dave Lewis
(£‘000)

Chief Financial Officer – Alan Stewart
(£‘000)

£8,186

42%

38%

£4,905

35%

32%

£1,624

100%

33%

20%

£4,747

43%

36%

21%

£2,872

36%

29%

35%

£997

100%

Minimum

On-target

Maximum

Minimum

On-target

Maximum

Fixed pay

Annual bonus

Long-term incentive

Performance scenarios.
On-target assumed to be 50% of maximum for annual bonus and Performance Share Plan (PSP).

Annual bonus (maximum as a % of base salary) 
PSP (maximum as a % of base salary)
Minimum performance

On-target performance 

Maximum performance 

Group Chief Executive

250% 
275%
No annual bonus payout 
No vesting under the PSP
50% annual bonus payout 
50% PSP vesting
100% annual bonus payout 
100% PSP vesting

Chief Financial Officer

225% 
275%

Assuming a share price appreciation of 50% during the performance period of the PSP, the maximum for Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart would 
increase to £9,905,000 and £5,778,000, respectively.

Fixed pay is based on current values as set out in the table below:

Group Chief Executive – Dave Lewis (£’000)
Chief Financial Officer – Alan Stewart (£’000)

(a)  Benefits for Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart are as set out in Single total figure of remuneration on page 66.

Base salary

Benefits(a)

Pension

Total fixed pay

1,250

750

61

59

313

188

1,624

997

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

69

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report continued

Annual report on 
remuneration.

This section details the remuneration of the Executive and Non-executive Directors during the financial year ended 23 February 2019 and 
has been prepared in accordance with Part 3 of The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment) 
Regulations 2013 and Rule 9.8.6 of the Listing Rules. The Directors’ remuneration report (excluding the Summary of remuneration policy) will 
be proposed for an advisory shareholder vote at the 2019 AGM.
Fixed remuneration.
Salary.
The Committee considered the Group Chief Executive’s and Chief Financial Officer’s base salaries during 2018/19 taking into account pay 
review budgets across the Group. As a result, the Committee determined that the base salaries for Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart would remain 
unchanged for 2019/20. The base salaries of Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart have remained unchanged since their dates of appointment in 2014.

Base salary

Increase in year (%)
Annual base salary (£’000)
Base salary received in year (£’000)

Dave Lewis

Alan Stewart

2018/19

Nil

1,250

1,250

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

Nil

1,250

1,250

Nil

750

750

Nil

750

750

Benefits (audited).
Each Executive Director received a car or cash allowance and the benefit of a driver. The Company also provided health insurance and life 
assurance. Details of benefits paid in 2018/19 are set out in At a glance on page 66.
Pension.
Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart received a cash allowance in lieu of pension of 25% of base salary.

Pension

Annual cash allowance in lieu of pension (% of base salary)
Annual cash allowance in lieu of pension (£’000) 

Dave Lewis

Alan Stewart

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

25%

313

25%

313

25%

188

25%

188

2018/19	variable	remuneration	(audited).
2018/19 annual bonus payouts for the Executive Directors.
In determining the final level of bonus payable, the Committee considered the wider performance of the Group and noted that management 
were continuing to make improvements in the way we serve customers, had met the vast majority of the turnaround targets and had 
strategically repositioned the Group. The Committee considered potential adjustments to the annual bonus measures to take account 
of events which have impacted outcomes, but which were not foreseen or allowed for at the start of the year when targets were set. 
The Committee decided to take the sales and profit numbers of Tesco Direct out from both targets and actuals following its closure. 
The Committee also decided to adjust targets to reflect Board approved strategic decisions and legal changes (e.g. restrictions being placed 
on trading days) in Central Europe. Outcomes have been adjusted to remove Tesco Direct sales and losses incurred in the first five months 
of the year before it was closed. This resulted in the sales performance figure for incentive purposes being £95m lower than the reported 
outcomes and the profit figure being £24m higher than the reported outcomes.

Total annual bonus payout in 2018/19 (audited)

Stretch bonus opportunity (% of base salary)
Actual bonus (% of maximum)

 – sales growth
 – Group operating profit
 – individual objectives
 – stakeholder objectives

Actual bonus (% of base salary)
Actual bonus (£’000)
Deferred into shares (50% of actual bonus) (£’000)

(a)  Details of the outcomes of each annual bonus metric are set out on page 67.

Executive Directors

Dave Lewis

Alan Stewart

250%

52.5%

14.1%

21.8%

12.4%

4.2%

131.3%

1,641

820.5

225%

49.4%

14.1%

21.8%

9.3%

4.2%

111.2%

834

417

70

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

2018/19 achievement of individual objectives.
China JV opportunities (5%)
Executive Director
During the year, there were a number 
Dave Lewis
of initiatives focused on improving the 
performance of the Group’s joint 
venture in China – Gain Land Limited. 
This resulted in a payout between 
target and stretch of 3.3%.

Executive Director
Alan Stewart

China JV opportunities (5%)
As above, payout between target and 
stretch of 3.3%.

Loyalty (5%)
A number of improvements were made to 
Clubcard during the year, including a refresh 
of the Clubcard app with Faster Vouchers 
functionality, with users up 34% year-on-year, 
and the launch of Colleague Clubcard Plus. As a 
result of this performance a maximum payout 
was achieved of 5%. 

Booker synergies (5%)
Against a backdrop of 
considerable change, Booker 
synergies of £79m were 
generated. This was above 
the target of £60m and 
resulted in a payout of 4.1%.

Finance Transformation (5%)
The new general ledger went live in the UK in 
November 2018. Work remains on rolling it out to 
international businesses. Payout between threshold 
and target of 1.9%.

Booker synergies (5%)
As above, payout between 
target and stretch of 4.1%.

(a)  Details of the outturn of the financial and stakeholder performance metrics for the 2018/19 annual bonus are set out in At a glance on page 67.

2016 PSP vesting (audited).
The PSP award granted in 2016 will vest in May 2019 based on performance up to and including the 2018/19 financial year. The performance 
outcome was as follows:

Measures (% maximum)
Relative TSR(b) (50%)

Performance targets

Vesting level

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Threshold

Target

Stretch

Number of  
shares to vest(c)

Actual 
performance

Payout  
(% maximum)

Dave  
Lewis

Alan  
Stewart

Performance 
equal to the 
index

–

8% p.a. 
outperformance  
of the index

25%

100%

Below 
index

0%

Straight-line 
vesting 
between 
threshold and 
stretch

Cash generation (30%)

£7,998m £8,398m

£8,798m

25%

50%

100%

£8,379m

14.6% 635,814 346,807

(a)  The stakeholder measures paid out at 14.2% of maximum opportunity. Further details are set out on page 66.
(b)  TSR was assessed against a benchmark index made up of FTSE 350 Food and Drug Retailers (excluding Tesco) and FTSE 350 General Retailers weighted 85% and 15%, respectively.
(c)  For the equivalent value in cash see the Single total figure of remuneration table on page 66.
(d)  Details of adjustments to the cash generation targets are set out on page 72.

Based on the above performance, 28.8% of the 2016 PSP awards will vest in May 2019. The share price at grant of the 2016 PSP award was 159p. 
Based on the three-month average share price to 23 February 2019 of 210p, £324,011 of the value of the PSP award for Dave Lewis and 
£176,733 of the value of the PSP award for Alan Stewart is attributable to share price appreciation over the three-year performance period. 

The Committee considered the formulaic outcomes of the PSP award in the context of specific Company performance, the wider 
shareholder and stakeholder experiences and the change in the actual value of shares which will be delivered to Dave Lewis and 
Alan Stewart as a result of share price appreciation. Following such considerations and despite agreeing that the formulaic outcomes 
did not reflect the Group’s strong performance over the three-year performance period, the Committee determined that it would 
not apply any discretion in respect of their awards.
2018 PSP award grant (audited).
The following summarises the PSP awards made to Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart in 2018/19.

Type of award 

Dave Lewis 

Alan Stewart 

Performance share award subject to performance 
conditions and continued employment 
Performance share award subject to performance 
conditions and continued employment

Date  
of award

Gross  
number  
of shares 

Face value  
(% of base 
salary)

Face
value (£)(a)

Threshold 
vesting (% of 
face value)

Stretch  
vesting (% of 
face value)

Vesting  
date

16/07/18 

1,340,103 

275%  3,437,500 

25%

100% 

16/07/21

16/07/18 

730,965 

250% 

1,875,000 

25%

100% 

16/07/21

(a)  The face value has been calculated using the market price on grant of 256.51p (16 July 2018). The range of the Company’s share price for the year was 190p to 266p.
(b)  The awards have a three-year performance period which will end on 27 February 2021 and are subject to malus and clawback. Details of the performance measures and targets applying 

to the awards were set out in last year’s Annual Report. 

(c)  The vested shares, net of any tax liabilities, will be subject to a post-vesting holding period of two years.
(d)  The table shows the maximum number of shares that could be released if awards were to vest in full.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

71

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report continued

Adjustments to PSP targets.
The Committee considered adjustments to targets as a result of a number of unplanned items and agreed the following changes to ensure the 
PSP awards remained equally stretching and a clear line of sight was maintained.

2016 PSP award – Adjustments to cash generation targets.

Original targets
Adjustments
Revised targets

Threshold (£m)

Target (£m)

Stretch (£m)

8,600

(602)

7,998

9,000

(602)

8,398

9,400

(602)

8,798

(a)  Targets were adjusted to:
 – add targeted cash generation from the Booker business over the period following the merger in March 2018 to ensure the stretch in targets was maintained and management were 

incentivised to deliver the full financial benefits;

 – remove the cash costs relating to the SFO fine and shareholder compensation scheme payments. This settlement related to historic accounting practices prior to the current 

management team joining the business;

 – remove the one-off cash cost of the decision to pay the Colleague bonus plan from 2016 in cash, rather than shares. This decision was taken to appropriately manage equity issuance 

and did not reflect an additional economic cost; and

 – reflect decisions impacting working capital made in the second half of the year, including the impact of additional stock build as a result of political uncertainty. The most significant of 

these related to a decision to delay the implementation of a new general ledger system by a few months, which resulted in the collection of some receivable balances being delayed into 
the beginning of 2019/20. As this was a timing issue, targets were adjusted accordingly. This adjustment was reviewed by the Audit Committee. A commensurate increase has been made 
to the budgets and targets for the 2019 PSP award. This adjustment will not be made to the cash flow measures on the 2017 and 2018 PSP awards, which are based on cumulative cash flow.

2017 PSP award – Adjustments to cash generation targets. 

Original targets
Revised targets (including impact of Booker transaction and SFO fine and shareholder compensation 
scheme payments)
Revised targets (including IFRS 16)

Threshold (£m)

Target (£m)

Stretch (£m)

9,200

9,700

10,200

9,603

10,676

10,103

11,176

10,603

11,676

(a)  The adjustments outlined for 2016 PSP awards above in relation to Booker and the SFO fine and shareholder compensation scheme payments, also apply to the 2017 PSP award.
(b) 

In addition, targets have been adjusted to take into account IFRS 16 (the new lease accounting standard) as the original targets were set on the basis of the previous accounting standard. 
This adjustment to targets is purely formulaic to take into account the new standard.

2018 PSP award – Adjustment to EPS* targets.

Original targets (excluding IFRS 16)
Revised targets (including IFRS 16)

Threshold (p)

Target (p)

Stretch (p)

18.0

16.1

21.2

19.3

24.4

22.5

(c)  The EPS* targets for the 2018 PSP award have been adjusted to take into account IFRS 16. This adjustment to targets is purely formulaic to take into account the new accounting standard.

Remuneration of Charles Wilson in 2018/19 (audited).
Charles Wilson joined the Board as CEO, UK & ROI on 5 March 2018 and stepped down from the Board on 16 July 2018 due to illness. As he 
was on the Board for a short portion of the year, his remuneration has been disclosed separately from that of the other Executive Directors. 
The figures shown below relate to the portion of the year in which Charles Wilson was on the Board.

Year

Base salary 
(£’000)

Benefits 
(£’000)

Pension 
(£’000)

Short-term 
annual bonus 
(£’000)

Long-term 
performance 
share plan 
(£’000)

Total 
(£’000)

Charles Wilson
Fixed remuneration.
Charles Wilson’s base salary on appointment was £575,000 and his cash allowance in lieu of pension was 20% of base salary. He also received 
benefits consisting of life assurance and a cash car allowance. 

2018/19

206

468

212

42

8

–

Variable remuneration.
The maximum annual bonus opportunity for Charles Wilson on appointment was 200% of base salary. This was measured against financial and 
strategic objective metrics, in line with other Executive Directors’ and senior managers’ awards. The financial metrics were measured, and the 
outcome was adjusted, in the same way as for other Executive Directors and senior managers, and therefore his performance outcome in the 
year against these metrics is the same as described in At a glance on page 67. Charles Wilson achieved a performance outcome of 10% against 
his strategic objectives, making his 2018/19 bonus outturn 45.9% of maximum opportunity. In accordance with the remuneration policy, 50% 
of the award will be deferred into Tesco PLC shares for three years, subject to continued employment. Details of his interests in share awards 
are set out on page 75.

72

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Implementation of remuneration policy in 2019/20.
2019/20 salary.
The base salaries of Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart will remain unchanged in 2019/20 at £1,250,000 and £750,000, respectively. 
2019/20 annual bonus awards.
The maximum annual bonus opportunity and performance measures for each of the Executive Directors for 2019/20 is as follows:

Executive Director 

Dave Lewis 
Alan Stewart 

Measures 

Group operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Sales growth

Strategic objectives 
Group operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles

Maximum opportunity

250%

225%

Weighting

50%

30%

20%

Underpin

Annual bonus targets are considered by the Board to be commercially sensitive as they could inform Tesco’s competitors of its budgeting. 
Therefore, we do not publish details of the targets on a prospective basis. However, we will provide full and transparent disclosure of the 
targets and the performance against these targets on a retrospective basis in next year’s Annual Report at the same time that the annual 
bonus outcome is reported.

The 2019/20 targets were set based on 2018/19 average actual foreign exchange rates. Performance against these targets will be measured 
based on the same rates in order to ensure consistent treatment of foreign exchange in both targets and actual performance. To ensure 
that Executive Directors are not incentivised to grow sales at the expense of satisfactory profitability, a Group operating profit before 
exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles underpin will continue to be applied to the annual bonus below which no 
portion of the bonus will be paid.
2019 PSP award grant.
As set out in the Annual statement, the Committee has agreed to increase from 250% to 275% of base salary the grant value of Alan Stewart’s 
PSP. The value of the PSP awards to be granted to each Executive Director in 2019 and corresponding performance measures are as follows:

Executive Director

Dave Lewis
Alan Stewart

Performance measure 
EPS*

Free cash flow 

Maximum opportunity

275%

275%

Definition of measure

Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired 
intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements on financial instruments.
Free cash flow includes all cash flows from operating and investing activities, plus the market purchase of shares net 
of proceeds from shares issued in relation to share schemes and lease payments. The following items are excluded: 
investing cash flows that increase/(decrease) items within Group net debt, and cash flows from major corporate 
acquisitions and disposals. This measure reflects the cash available to shareholders.

Both financial measures are defined in the same manner as the reported alternative performance measures as set out on pages 178 to 181.

The corresponding incentive targets over the three-year performance period are:

Performance measure
EPS*(a)(b)(d)
Free cash flow (three years)(a)(b)(c)

Weighting

50%

50%

Threshold

Vesting  
level

25%

25%

Performance 
required

17.2p

£4,334m

Stretch

Vesting 
level

100%

100%

Performance 
required

23.2p

£6,501m

(a)  EPS* and free cash flow targets have been adjusted for the impact of IFRS 16.
(b)  Both PSP performance measures have straight-line vesting between threshold and stretch.
(c)  The free cash flow target has been increased to include the impact of the additional year-end working capital balance, as disclosed in relation to the 2016 PSP award on page 72.
(d)  Threshold and stretch EPS* targets equate to compound growth of 7.6% and 18.9% per annum, respectively.

Performance targets are set taking into account internal budget forecasts, the Long Term Plan, external expectations and the need to ensure 
that targets remain incentivising. 

Details of the awards made to Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart in 2019 will be reported in next year’s Annual Report.
Dividend equivalents.
Awards will incorporate the right (in cash or shares) to receive the value of dividends between grant and vest in respect of the number of shares 
that vest. The calculation of dividend equivalents will assume reinvestment of those dividends in Tesco PLC shares on a cumulative basis.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

73

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report continued

Performance graph.
The following chart illustrates the performance of Tesco measured by Total Shareholder Return (share price growth plus dividends paid) 
against the FTSE 100, which is a broad market index of which Tesco is a constituent, over a period of 10 years. An additional line to illustrate 
the Company’s performance compared with the FTSE 350 Food and Drug Retailers index over the previous 10 years is also included.

TSR performance graph
(Value of hypothetical £100 investment)

145

130

125

100

168

130

129

191

131

130

172

111

106

214

135

121

225

107

93

205

91

69

254

100

72

264

273

110

78

126

86

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

02/2009

02/2010

02/2011

02/2012

02/2013

02/2014

02/2015

02/2016

02/2017

02/2018

02/2019

Tesco

FTSE 350 Food & Drug

FTSE 100

Source: Datastream

While total shareholder returns have been increasing for Tesco in recent years, the period covered by the chart reflects a period of corporate 
change, including the decision to make a significant reinvestment in our customer offer and withdraw the dividend in 2015, in order to focus 
on improving the competitiveness of the core UK business and protecting and strengthening the balance sheet. The sector more broadly has 
faced a number of challenges in recent years, including consumer uncertainty, price competition and cost inflation. Tesco is in a strong 
position to deal with these challenges and, reflecting improving performance and confidence in the future prospects for the Company, the 
Board reinstated the dividend in 2017.
Executive Directors’ interests in shares and shareholding guidelines (audited).
The table below sets out shares held by the Executive Directors and their connected persons (including beneficial interests) and a summary 
of outstanding share awards. Both Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart exceed their relevant shareholding guideline.

Ordinary shares 
beneficially  
owned at  
24/02/18

Ordinary shares 
beneficially  
owned at  
23/02/19

Unvested deferred 
annual bonus  
options/awards 
subject  
to continued 
employment

Unvested  
PSP awards  
subject to 
performance 
conditions

Vested but 
unexercised nil cost 
options, not subject 
to performance 
conditions

Current  
shareholding  
(% of base salary)

Shareholding 
requirement  
(% of base salary)

103,346

53,033

167,691

116,576

2,114,803 

1,139,654

5,508,876

3,004,839

2,666,136

1,171,604

454% 

376% 

400%

300%

Executive Director

Dave Lewis 
Alan Stewart 

(a)  Value of Executive Directors’ shareholdings based on the three-month average share price to 23 February 2019 of 210p.
(b)  Vested and unvested options and awards include dividend equivalents added since the date of grant.
(c)  Shares used to determine the shareholding guideline are shares beneficially owned and shares held in plans which are not subject to performance conditions on a net of tax basis.
(d)  Between 23 February 2019 and 9 April 2019, Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart acquired 59 and 58 partnership shares, respectively, under the all-employee Share Incentive Plan. No other 

changes in Executive Director share interests occurred in the period.

Executive Committee members are required to build up and maintain a shareholding of at least 200% of base salary in Tesco PLC shares.  
As at the date of this report, this had been met by all Executive Committee members, except Natasha Adams, Alessandra Bellini, Christine 
Heffernan, Tony Hoggett, Gerry Mallon and Andrew Yaxley who joined the Committee between March 2017 and March 2019. In line with the 
Executive Directors, Executive Committee members are required to retain all shares that vest, net of any tax liability, and any other Tesco PLC 
shares held by them until the requirement is met.

74

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Executive Directors’ interests in share awards.

Financial year awards vesting in

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

Dave Lewis
Vested awards
Options subject to service
Options subject to performance and service (PSP)
SAYE options (exercise price £1.88)

Alan Stewart
Vested awards
Options subject to service
Options subject to performance and service (PSP)
SAYE options (exercise price £1.88)

461,948

620,957

623,152

479,919

480,160

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

258,287

334,088

259,156

320,073

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

939,720

655,815

477,485

2,161,405

1,909,722

1,340,103

–

–

–

–

–

–

507,449

347,906

261,808

1,178,948

1,041,666

730,965

–

–

–

9,574

–

–

–

9,574

–

–

–

(a)  1,096,891 and 598,304 nil-cost options granted under the PSP in 2015 to Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart, respectively, lapsed in 2018/19. 
(b)  Options over 11,920 shares under the Company’s SAYE plan were exercised and the shares retained by both Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart in 2018/19.
(c)  Charles Wilson stood down from the Board on 16 July 2018. While a Director, an option over 1,500,647 shares was granted to him on 6 March 2018 following the rollover of an option over 
1.4 million Booker Group plc ordinary shares granted under the Booker Group plc Performance Share Plan 2008 on 3 July 2008. The option was exercised on 2 July 2018 and the shares 
retained by him. In addition, Charles Wilson was granted an award over 504,366 shares under the PSP on 16 July 2018, which will vest on 16 July 2021. Details of the performance measures 
and targets applying to the award were set out in last year’s Annual Report. 

(d)  All options lapse 10 years after grant, except SAYE options which expire six months after maturity.
(e)  Vested options include dividend equivalents added as shares since the date of grant.

Change in Group Chief Executive remuneration compared with changes in colleague remuneration.
In the UK, the total reward package for a typical Customer Assistant is ahead of the voluntary Living Wage on a national basis and the same 
hourly rate is paid to all colleagues regardless of age. The Company is committed to rewarding colleagues with a total reward package that 
provides them with choice and that they really value.

The table below shows the percentage change in remuneration for the Group Chief Executive and the average UK Customer Assistant  
from 2017/18 to 2018/19.

The Committee decided to use UK Customer Assistants as the appropriate comparator group. The reasoning was that, as pay changes across 
the Group depending on local market conditions, UK Customer Assistants constitute the majority of Tesco’s UK colleagues and the Group 
Chief Executive is predominantly based in the UK, albeit with a global role and responsibilities.

Group Chief Executive 
Average UK Customer Assistant 

Salary  
(% change from  
2017/18 to 2018/19)

Benefits  
(% change from  
2017/18 to 2018/19)

Bonus  
(% change from  
2017/18 to 2018/19)

0% 

5.0%

(6.2)% 

0% 

(27.9)%

(4)%

Bonuses for 2018/19 for UK Customer Assistants paid out on average at 73% of the maximum bonus opportunity (2017/18: 77%).

120

115

110

105

100

95

The chart opposite shows that between 2015/16 and 2018/19 
the hourly rate paid to UK Customer Assistants increased by 
14%. The base salaries of Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart were 
unchanged over the same period.

2015/16
Average UK Customer Assistant hourly rate changes
Executive Director base salary

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Group Chief Executive remuneration history.

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Sir Terry 
Leahy

Sir Terry 
Leahy

Philip 
Clarke

Philip 
Clarke

Philip 
Clarke

Philip 
Clarke

Dave 
Lewis(b)

Dave 
Lewis

Dave 
Lewis

Dave 
Lewis

Dave 
Lewis

Group Chief Executive single figure of 
remuneration (£’000)
Annual bonus outturn (% of maximum award)
PSP vest (% of maximum award) 
Share option vesting (% of maximum award)

7,100 

7,150 

4,595 

1,280 

1,634 

89% 

83% 

75% 

75% 

0%(a) 

46.5% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

0% 

n/a 

764 

0% 

0% 

n/a 

4,133 

4,632 

n/a 

n/a 

n/a 

96% 

n/a 

n/a 

4,147 

76% 

n/a 

n/a 

5,113

73%

30%

n/a

4,600

52.5%

28.8%

n/a

(a)  Philip Clarke elected not to take a bonus for 2011/12 and left the Board on 1 September 2014.
(b)  The single figure total for 2014/15 includes one-off buyout awards made to Dave Lewis to compensate him for awards forfeited from his previous employer. The awards were made based 
on the expected value of the awards forfeited, taking into account performance at his previous employer and delivered in nil cost options which vest subject to continued employment by 
Tesco. Since these were awards related to previous employment, and not subject to Tesco performance conditions, there is no direct alignment with Tesco’s performance in 2014/15. The 
awards had no impact on the single figure for 2015/16 or any future years.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

75

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report continued

Relative importance of spend on pay.
The chart shows total colleague pay compared with distributions 
to shareholders and for further context, Group operating profit 
before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles. 
Tesco’s colleagues are essential to how the Company does 
business and meets the needs of its customers. In 2018/19, 
Tesco employed, on average, 464,505 colleagues across the 
Group (2017/18: 448,988).

Total employee pay includes wages and salaries, social security, 
pension and share-based costs at actual exchange rates (£7,646m 
in 2018/19 and £7,233m in 2017/18 – see Note 3 of the financial 
statements). Distributions to shareholders include interim and 
final dividends paid in respect of each financial year (£357m in 
2018/19 and £82m in 2017/18 – see Note 8 of the financial 
statements). There were no share buybacks in 2017/18 or 2018/19. 

(£m)

7,233

7,646

1,646

2,206

82

357

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

2017/18

2018/19

Total
employee pay

Distributions
to shareholders

Group operating profit
before exceptional items 
and amortisation of 
acquired intangibles

Further information on remuneration in 2018/19.
Payments to former Directors and for loss of office (audited).
There were no payments made to former Directors that exceeded the de minimis threshold of £10,000 set by the Company.  
There were no payments for loss of office made to Directors in the year.
Risk management.
When developing the remuneration structures, the Committee considered whether any aspect of these might encourage risk-taking or 
behaviours that are incompatible with Tesco’s values and the long-term interests of shareholders. If necessary, the Committee would 
take appropriate steps to address this. The Committee also has the discretion to apply malus and clawback in certain circumstances.
Outside appointments.
In 2018/19, Alan Stewart received £122,000 (2017/18: £118,000) in fees and a product allowance as a non-executive director of Diageo plc. 
He does not receive any fees as a Director of Tesco Personal Finance Group PLC (Tesco Bank).
Executive Directors’ service agreements.
The Executive Directors’ service agreements, including arrangements for early termination, are carefully considered by the Committee and 
are designed to recruit, retain and motivate Executive Directors of the calibre required to manage the Company. The Committee’s policy is 
for Executive Directors’ service contracts to be terminable on no more than one year’s notice. The details of existing Executive Directors’ 
service contracts are summarised in the table below:

Executive Director

Dave Lewis
Alan Stewart

Date of service agreement

Notice period

19 July 2014

9 July 2014

12 months

12 months

Funding of equity awards.
Where shares are newly issued, the Company complies with Investment Association dilution guidelines on their issue which provide that 
overall dilution under all plans should not exceed 10% over a 10-year period in relation to the Company’s issued share capital, with a further 
limitation of 5% in any 10-year period for executive plans. The current dilution usage of discretionary plans is 2.0% of shares in issue. Where 
shares are purchased in the market, these may be held by Tesco Employees’ Share Scheme Trustees Limited or Tesco International Employee 
Benefit Trust in which case the voting rights relating to the shares are exercisable by the Trustees in accordance with their fiduciary duties. 
At 23 February 2019, the Trusts held 69,590,647 shares.
Implementation of remuneration policy for Non-executive Directors in 2018/19.
Non-executive Directors’ dates of appointment.

Appointment end date in accordance  
with letter of appointment

Director

John Allan 
Mark Armour 
Melissa Bethell
Stewart Gilliland
Steve Golsby
Byron Grote 
Mikael Olsson 
Deanna Oppenheimer
Simon Patterson 
Alison Platt 
Lindsey Pownall 

Date of appointment 

Notice period

1 March 2015 

2 September 2013 

24 September 2018

5 March 2018

1 October 2016 

1 May 2015 

1 November 2014

1 March 2012 

1 April 2016 

1 April 2016 

1 April 2016 

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

76

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

AGM 2019

Non-executive Director fees.
The Chairman’s fee was reviewed by the Committee (without the Chairman present) and the Non-executive Director fees by a committee 
comprising the Chairman, Group Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer in 2018. Following a review of independently sourced data, it was 
deemed appropriate to increase the Chairman’s fee by 3.1% to £670,000 and Non-executive Director annual fees in accordance with the 
levels set out in the table below with effect from 1 November 2018. The Chairman’s fee has remained unchanged since his appointment in 2015 
and the Non-executive Director fees were last increased with effect from 1 March 2017. In future, fees will be reviewed each year to coincide 
with salary reviews for colleagues. 

Chairman 
Non-executive Director fee
Additional fees:

24 February to  
31 October 2018

From  
1 November 2018

£650,000

£72,000

£670,000

£75,000

Senior Independent Director 
Chairs of the Audit, Corporate Responsibility and Remuneration Committees 
Membership of Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nominations and Governance and Remuneration Committees 

£27,000

£31,000

£12,500

£27,000

£31,000

£13,500

The Company reimburses the Non-executive Directors for reasonable expenses in performing their duties and may settle any tax incurred 
in relation to these. The Company will pay reasonable legal fees for advice in relation to terms of engagement. For Non-executive Directors 
based overseas the Company meets travel and accommodation expenditure as required to fulfil their duties and may settle any tax incurred 
in relation to these. John Allan may have the benefit of home security, colleague discount and healthcare for himself and his partner.
Fees paid to Non-executive Directors during 2018/19 (audited).
The following table sets out the fees paid to the Non-executive Directors for the year ended 23 February 2019. Non-executive Directors are 
not paid a pension and do not participate in any of the Company’s variable incentive schemes. 

Non-executive Director

John Allan 

Mark Armour 

Melissa Bethell(b)

Stewart Gilliland(b)

Steve Golsby 

Byron Grote 

Mikael Olsson 

Deanna Oppenheimer 

Simon Patterson 

Alison Platt 

Lindsey Pownall 

Date 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18 

2018/19 

2017/18

Fees 
(£’000)

655

650

86

84 

33

–

71

–

99

89 

129

128 

98

97 

156

155 

86

84 

86

84 

104

95 

Taxable 
expenses(a)
(£’000)

Total  
(£’000)

8

10

–

– 

0.5

–

0.5

–

13

9 

–

– 

5

4 

18

14 

–

– 

0.5

2 

10

6 

663

660

86

84

33.5

–

71.5

–

112

98

129

128

103

101

174

169

86

84

86.5

86

114

101

(a)  Taxable expenses include expense reimbursements relating to travel, accommodation and subsistence in connection with the attendance at Board and Committee meetings during the 
year, which are deemed by HMRC to be taxable in the United Kingdom. The amounts in the table above include the grossed-up cost of UK tax paid by the Company on behalf of the 
Non-executive Directors. Non-taxable expense reimbursements have not been included in the table above.
(b)  Stewart Gilliland and Melissa Bethell joined the Board on 5 March 2018 and 24 September 2018, respectively.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

77

Corporate governanceDirectors’ remuneration report continued

Beneficial	share	ownership	(audited).
The table below outlines the current share interests of the Non-executive Directors. Shareholdings include shares held by connected persons. 
Non-executive Directors are subject to the same share dealing policy as Executive Directors and there were no changes to their share 
interests between 24 February 2019 and 9 April 2019.

Non-executive Director
John Allan(a)
Mark Armour 
Melissa Bethell
Stewart Gilliland
Steve Golsby
Byron Grote(b)
Mikael Olsson 
Deanna Oppenheimer(b) 
Simon Patterson
Alison Platt 
Lindsey Pownall

Ordinary shares held  
at 23 February 2019

Ordinary shares held  
at 24 February 2018

306,082

50,000

25,335

43,398

42,296

280,500

30,418

110,820

100,000

34,255

70,000

284,082

50,000

–

43,050

42,296

243,000

20,101

109,041

100,000

11,242

20,000

(a)  John Allan also held 398,000 bonds in the Company at 23 February 2019 (398,000 bonds at 24 February 2018).
(b)  Byron Grote and Deanna Oppenheimer held their shares in the form of American Depositary Receipts. Each ADR is equivalent to three Ordinary shares of 5p each in the Company.

The Remuneration Committee in 2018/19.
Operation of the Remuneration Committee.
The members of the Committee during the year were: John Allan, Steve Golsby, Byron Grote, Mikael Olsson, Deanna Oppenheimer and 
Alison Platt. Steve Golsby took over the role of Chair of the Committee from Deanna Oppenheimer on 1 February 2019. Deanna Oppenheimer 
continues to serve as a member of the Committee. The Directors’ biographies can be found on pages 40 to 42 and details of members’ 
attendance at meetings during the year on page 47. No member of the Committee has any personal financial interest in the matters being 
decided, other than as a shareholder, nor any day-to-day involvement in running the business of Tesco. 

The Committee schedules meetings two years in advance. During the year, it held four scheduled meetings. Robert Welch, Group Company 
Secretary, is Secretary to the Committee and Dave Lewis, Group Chief Executive, and Natasha Adams, Chief People Officer, attend meetings 
at the invitation of the Committee. The Group Chief Executive, Chief People Officer and Group Company Secretary are not present when his 
or her own remuneration is being discussed. The Committee is supported by the Reward, Corporate Secretariat and Finance functions.
Relations with Tesco Bank.
As required by the Financial Conduct Authority, Tesco Bank has a separate, independent remuneration committee. The Committee is 
consulted on, and makes recommendations in relation to, the remuneration arrangements for Tesco Bank colleagues, with the aim of 
encouraging consistency with Group remuneration policy, but it does not make decisions in relation to, or direct, how remuneration is 
managed within Tesco Bank.

78

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Remuneration Committee activities 2018/19.
The following provides a summary of the key areas of focus of the Committee during the year: 

Strategy and policy 

Appointments and 
cessations 

Pay 

Short-term incentives 

Long-term incentives 

Governance and other 
matters 

Reviewed external market developments and best practice in remuneration. 
Considered feedback from investors on the 2018 remuneration policy.
Approved remuneration packages for new Executive Committee members and other senior managers. 
Approved the cessation terms of Jane Lawrie on leaving the Executive Committee and the remuneration package of Charles 
Wilson on stepping down from the Board.
Reviewed Executive Directors’ remuneration packages and agreed to increase the Chief Financial Officer’s PSP grant to 275% of 
base salary. 
Determined an increase to the Chairman’s fee.
Reviewed performance against targets and approved adjustments to the annual bonus outcome.  
Approved amendments to the weightings of the annual bonus metrics and determined 2018/19 targets. 
Reviewed the rules of the Tesco PLC Deferred Bonus Plan prior to being put to shareholders at the 2019 AGM. 
Approved amendments to share plan rules to implement the requirements of the 2018 Code. 
Reviewed performance against targets and determined 2015 PSP outturn. 
Determined metrics and targets for the 2018 PSP award.  
Determined adjustments to the targets of unvested PSP awards. 
Approved amendments to share plan rules to implement the requirements of the 2018 Code. 
Reviewed shareholder feedback on the 2018 Annual Report. 
Made a number of amendments to remuneration and disclosures to implement the requirements of the 2018 Code and the 
Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018.  
Reviewed shareholding guidelines and progress of Executive Directors and Executive Committee members.  
Approved the 2017/18 Directors’ remuneration report.  
Received a report from Tesco Bank remuneration committee.  
Reviewed the Committee’s performance and terms of reference.

Committee advisors.
The Committee has authority to obtain the advice of external independent remuneration consultants. It is solely responsible for their 
appointment, retention and termination and for approval of the basis of their fees and other terms. PwC was appointed advisor to the 
Committee in 2015 following a comprehensive selection process. The Chair of the Committee agrees the protocols under which PwC provides 
advice. PwC is a member of the Remuneration Consultants Code of Conduct and adheres to this Code in its dealings with the Committee. 

During the year, PwC provided independent advice and commentary on a range of topics including remuneration trends, consulting with 
shareholders and corporate governance. PwC fees for advice provided to the Committee were £120,700 (2017/18: £166,000). Fees are 
charged on a time and materials basis. PwC also provided general consultancy services to management during the year. Separate teams 
within PwC provided unrelated advisory services in respect of corporate tax compliance, technology consulting and internal audit services 
during the year. However, the Committee is satisfied that these activities do not compromise the independence or objectivity of the advice 
it has received from PwC.
Compliance.
In carrying out its duties, the Committee gives full consideration to best practice, including investor guidelines. The Committee was 
constituted and operated throughout the period in accordance with the principles outlined in the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct 
Authority. The auditor’s report, set out on pages 84 to 91, covers the disclosures referred to in this Report that are specified for audit by 
the Financial Conduct Authority.
Shareholder voting.
Tesco remains committed to ongoing shareholder dialogue and carefully reviews voting outcomes on remuneration matters. In the event of 
a substantial vote against a resolution in relation to Directors’ remuneration, Tesco would seek to understand the reasons for any such vote, 
and would detail any actions taken in response in the next Directors’ remuneration report.
Voting outcomes at 2018 AGM.

Votes for

% Votes against

%

Remuneration policy (binding vote)(a)
Remuneration report (advisory vote)(a)

6,732,074,335

7,036,698,808

93.15

96.94

495,171,972

222,134,025 

6.85

3.06

(a)  35,311,423 votes were withheld on the remuneration policy and 3,745,517 on the remuneration report. Votes withheld are not counted in the votes for or against a resolution, but would be 

considered by the Committee in the event of a significant number of votes being withheld.

Approved by the Board on 9 April 2019.

Steve Golsby
Remuneration Committee Chair

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

79

Corporate governanceDirectors’ report

The Directors present their report, together with the audited 
accounts for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019.
Dividends.
The profit for the financial year, after taxation, amounts to £1,320m 
(2017/18: £1,210m) from continuing operations. The Directors have 
declared dividends as follows:

Ordinary Shares
Paid interim dividend of 1.67 pence per share† (2017/18: 1 pence 
per share)
Proposed final dividend of 4.10 pence per share (2017/18: 2 pence  
per share)
Total dividend of 5.77 pence per share for 2018/19*  
(2017/18: 3 pence per share)

£m

162

402

564

*  Subject to shareholder approval at this year’s AGM, the final ordinary dividend will be 
paid on 21 June 2019 to all shareholders on the Register of Members at the close of 
business on 17 May 2019.

†  Excludes £2m dividends waived (2018: £nil).

Certain nominee companies representing our employee benefit 
trusts hold shares in the Company in connection with the 
operation of the Company’s share plans and evergreen dividend 
waivers remain in place on shares held by them that have not 
been allocated to employees.

Share capital and control of the Company and 
significant agreements.
Details of the Company’s share capital, including changes during 
the year in the issued share capital and details of the rights 
attaching to the Company’s ordinary shares are set out in Note 28 
on page 147.

No shareholder holds securities carrying special rights with regards 
to control of the Company and there are no restrictions on voting 
rights or the transfer of securities in the Company and the 
Company is not aware of any agreements between holders of 
securities that result in such restrictions.

The Company was authorised by shareholders at the 2018 AGM 
to purchase its own shares in the market up to a maximum of 
approximately 10% of its issued share capital. No shares were 
purchased under that authority during the financial year. The 
Company is seeking to renew the authority at the forthcoming 
AGM, within the limits set out in the notice of that meeting and in 
line with the recommendations of the Pre-emption Group.

Shares held by the Company’s Share Incentive Plan Trust, 
International Employee Benefit Trust, Employees’ Share Scheme 
Trust, Tesco Ireland Share Bonus Scheme Trust and Booker Group 
2010 Employee Benefit Trust rank pari passu with the shares in 
issue and have no special rights. Voting rights and rights of 
acceptance of any offer relating to the shares held in these 
trusts rests with the trustees, who may take account of any 
recommendation from the Company. Voting rights are not 
exercisable by the employees on whose behalf the shares 
are held in trust.

The Company is not party to any significant agreements that 
would take effect, alter or terminate following a change of control 
of the Company. The Company does not have agreements with 
any Director or officer that would provide compensation for loss 
of office or employment resulting from a takeover, except that 
provisions of the Company’s share plans may cause options 
and awards granted under such plans to vest on a takeover.

80

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Major	shareholders.
Information provided to the Company by major shareholders 
pursuant to the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency 
Rules (DTR) are published via a Regulatory Information Service 
and are available on the Company’s website. The Company had 
been notified under Rule 5 of the DTR of the following interests 
in voting rights in its shares as at 23 February 2019 and as at the 
date of this report:

BlackRock, Inc.
Norges Bank
Schroders plc

% of total voting  
rights as at  
23 February 2019

% of total voting  
rights as at the  
date of this 
report

6.64

3.99

4.99

6.64

3.99

4.99

Articles of Association.
The Company’s Articles of Association may only be amended by 
special resolution at a general meeting of the shareholders.
Directors and their interests.
The biographical details of the current serving Directors are set 
out on pages 40 to 42. The Directors who served during the 
year were: John Allan; Mark Armour; Melissa Bethell (appointed 
24 September 2018); Steve Golsby; Byron Grote; Dave Lewis; 
Mikael Olsson; Deanna Oppenheimer; Simon Patterson;  
Alison Platt; Lindsey Pownall; Alan Stewart and Charles Wilson 
(stood down from the Board on 16 July 2018). The interests of 
Directors and their immediate families in the shares of Tesco PLC, 
along with details of Directors’ share options, are contained in 
the Directors’ remuneration report set out on pages 62 to 79.

On 5 March 2018 Stewart Gilliland and Charles Wilson were 
appointed to the Board. Charles Wilson resigned as a Director 
on 16 July 2018 due to ill health, but remains a member of the 
Executive Committee. On 24 September 2018 Melissa Bethell 
was appointed to the Board.

At no time during the year did any of the Directors have a material 
interest in any significant contract with the Company or any of its 
subsidiaries. A qualifying third party indemnity provision, as defined 
in Section 234 of the Companies Act 2006, is in force for the 
benefit of each of the Directors and the Group Company Secretary 
(who is also a Director of certain subsidiaries of the Company) in 
respect of liabilities incurred as a result of their office, to the 
extent permitted by law. In respect of those liabilities for which 
Directors may not be indemnified, the Company maintained a 
Directors’ and Officers’ liability insurance policy throughout the 
financial year.
Employment policies.
Our focus is on ensuring that our policies are simple, helpful and 
trusted, so that our colleagues are able to source the information 
they need quickly and easily. As our internal technology develops, 
we are transitioning to colleague self-service. The development of 
our Colleague Help service puts information into the hands of 
colleagues themselves, ensuring policies are better utilised, and 
available to all. These new platforms provide helpful feedback and 
analytics which facilitate our understanding of how and where we 
can continue to improve our offer. 

Over the last year we have continued to work with our recognised 
trade union in the UK, Usdaw, to improve our policies so that they 
address the needs of all our colleagues. Our local and national 
forums are invaluable for giving colleagues a voice and ensuring 
they are engaged with business decisions that are made. Such 
feedback helps us drive our business forward as our colleagues 
are closest to our customers.

Our Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion policies support 
managers and colleagues in creating a diverse and inclusive culture 
where everyone is welcome. We are committed to employing and 
supporting people who are disabled, or become disabled during 
their career within the Group and where possible, we make 
reasonable adjustments in job design and provide appropriate 
training. Our policies demonstrate our commitment to providing 
equal opportunities to all colleagues, irrespective of age, disability, 
gender, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, 
race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. We offer a 
range of colleague networks to maintain a culture of inclusivity, 
including: Out at Tesco; Women at Tesco; Black Asian Minority 
Ethnic Network; Armed Forces Network; and Disability Network. 
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer as part of the 
UK Government’s Disability Confident scheme, a Global Diversity 
champion with Stonewall and a gold member of the UK 
Government’s Armed Forces Covenant. This demonstrates 
Tesco’s commitment to ensuring we create an environment 
where all colleagues have the opportunity to get on.

We publish a robust Guide to help managers ensure they are 
supporting both colleagues and new applicants with disabilities. 
Our recruitment principles ensure that any applicant who can 
meet the minimum assessment criteria will be invited to interview 
regardless of whether they have a protected characteristic. When 
arranging further assessment interviews we ask candidates if they 
require any reasonable adjustments to help support them during 
the interview process, such as making adjustments to the scoring 
mechanisms used for interview assessments for someone who has 
learning difficulties or dyslexia.

We actively encourage colleagues to become involved in the 
financial performance of our business through a variety of 
share and bonus schemes.

We review and update all our policies annually.

More information on engagement with our 
colleagues can be found on page 53.

Political donations.
The Group did not make any political donations (2017/18: £nil) or 
incur any political expenditure during the year (2017/18: £nil).

Compliance	with	the	Groceries	(Supply	Chain	
Practices)	Market	Investigation	Order	2009	and	the	
Groceries	Supply	Code	of	Practice	(the	Code).
The Code regulates aspects of the commercial relationship 
between the 12 largest grocery retailers in the UK and their 
suppliers of grocery products, establishing an overarching 
principle that retailers must deal with their suppliers fairly and 
lawfully. Specific supplier protections under the Code include the 
obligation for agreements to be in writing and copies retained; 
reasonable notice to be given of changes to the supply chain or 
reduction in the volume of purchases; and a number of provisions 
relating to payments by suppliers, including obligations for retailers 
to pay suppliers without delay and a prohibition on certain types of 
payments, such as those for shrinkage. 

Retailer compliance with the Code is overseen by the Groceries 
Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon. We continue to engage 
constructively and positively with the GCA and her office and in 
2018/19 we worked together in particular on her Top Issues.

We have an established Code compliance programme at Tesco and 
One Stop which is embedded throughout our business. Following 
our merger with Booker in March 2018, we have been developing a 
bespoke GSCOP compliance programme at Booker which includes 
training and guidance on the Code. Similarly, as part of our 
strategic alliance, we have worked with Carrefour to deliver GSCOP 
training and guidance to colleagues working with suppliers to our 
UK business. At Tesco and One Stop we train colleagues across our 
Product and other functions in the UK and in Bengaluru on their 
obligations under the Code. In 2018/19, we trained 325 new starters 
and 1,393 colleagues received updated e-learning which is 
supplemented, where required, with face-to-face training sessions. 
In addition, 5,647 office colleagues have completed their annual 
Code of Compliance Declaration, and those colleagues who work 
with grocery suppliers have also completed a declaration to 
confirm they have complied with GSCOP during 2018/19. 
During the year, 530 Booker colleagues attended face-to-face or 
virtual training sessions on the Code. Training on the Code has 
been supplemented at Booker through the rollout of detailed 
guidance documents. 

We continue to strengthen and transform the way we work 
with suppliers through our Product Change Programme, simplifying 
how we do business and improving our supplier relationships. 
These developments are having a positive impact on our supplier 
relationships. In the GCA’s annual supplier survey for 2018, Tesco 
placed second in the overall assessment of Code compliance, 
an improvement from fourth in 2017. Tesco continues to be the 
most improved supplier for a third year with 97% of our suppliers 
recognising that we comply ‘consistently well’ or ‘mostly well’ 
with the Code. In our own supplier survey for the second half of 
2018/19, we are pleased that the results continue to reflect the 
progress we have made with suppliers. Our total UK score for 
suppliers rating their satisfaction with Tesco as either ‘extremely 
satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ was 79.7%. In relation to the areas 
discussed in this response, our strongest score in viewpoint 
continues to be ‘Tesco pays promptly (within policy terms)’ 
at 88.6%. In addition, ‘Tesco ensures issues are listened to, 
discussed and addressed’ saw 76.3% of our suppliers as 
either ‘extremely satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’.

This year, 40 Code-related issues were raised by suppliers (this 
includes four Booker suppliers and one One Stop supplier). In line 
with feedback sent by the GCA to all designated retailers, we have 
updated our internal reporting framework to capture all Code 
related issues raised by suppliers with any colleagues. Therefore, 
the scope of issues captured has widened for reporting purposes. 
As at 23 February 2019, we had resolved 34 of the concerns 
following further discussion between the buying team and the 
relevant supplier, or between our Code Compliance Officer and 
the supplier. Of the six remaining complaints to be resolved, we 
continue our discussions with these suppliers, with a view to 
resolving these matters. 

Going concern, longer term prospects and viability 
statement.
The Directors consider that the Group and the Company have 
adequate resources to remain in operation for the foreseeable 
future and have therefore continued to adopt the going concern 
basis in preparing the financial statements. The UK Corporate 
Governance Code 2016 requires the Directors to assess and report 
on the prospects of the Group over a longer period. This longer 
term viability statement is set out on page 37.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

81

Corporate governanceDirectors’ report continued

Events after the balance sheet date.
There are no post balance sheet events.

Directors’ statement of disclosure of information to 
the auditor.
Having made the requisite enquiries, the Directors in office at the 
date of this Annual Report and Financial Statements have each 
confirmed that, so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit 
information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) 
of which the Group’s auditor is unaware, and each of the Directors 
has taken all the steps he/she ought to have taken as a Director to 
make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit information and 
to establish that the Group’s auditor is aware of that information. 
This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance 
with the provisions of Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking 
information.
Where this document contains forward-looking statements, 
these are made by the Directors in good faith based on the 
information available to them at the time of their approval of 
this report. These statements should be treated with caution 
due to the inherent risks and uncertainties underlying any such 
forward-looking information. The Group cautions investors that a 
number of factors, including matters referred to in this document, 
could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained 
in any forward-looking statement. Such factors include, but are not 
limited to, those discussed under Principal risks and uncertainties 
on pages 32 to 36.

Neither the Group, nor any of the Directors, provides any 
representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence 
of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking 
statements in this document will actually occur. Undue reliance 
should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. 
The Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise 
any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new 
information, future events or otherwise.
Modern	Slavery	Act.
As per section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, our Modern 
Slavery Statement is reviewed and approved by the Board on an 
annual basis and published on our Group website. The statement 
covers the activities of Tesco PLC and its subsidiaries and details 
policies, processes and actions we have taken to ensure that 
slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in our supply 
chains or any part of our business. More information on our 
Statement can be found on our website.

Anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters.
We have a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and our anti-bribery 
programme operates around the Group. The programme is built 
around a clear understanding of how and where bribery risks 
affect our business and comprises key controls such as policies 
(anti-bribery, gifts & entertainment, conflicts of interest, charitable 
donations), procedures such as conducting due diligence on 
suppliers (in particular those who will engage public officials on our 
behalf), training colleagues on bribery risks every year and ongoing 
assurance programmes to test that the controls are functioning 
effectively. Bribery risk management is discussed at senior 
leadership groups in each business unit, including at the 
Group level, and also twice a year with the Audit Committee.
Additional disclosures.
Other information that is relevant to the Directors’ report, and 
which is incorporated by reference into this report, can be 
located as follows:

Future developments 
Research and development 
Greenhouse gas emissions 
Financial instruments and financial risk management 
Corporate governance report 
Employee engagement

Pages

1 to 37

15

31

129 to 139

38 to 61

53 

Disclosures required pursuant to Listing Rule 9.8.4R can be found 
on the following pages:

Statement of capitalised interest 
Allotment for cash of equity securities 
Waiver of dividends 

Pages

114 to 122

147

80

The Company has chosen, in accordance with Section 414 C(11) of 
the Companies Act 2006, and as noted in this Directors’ report, to 
include certain matters in its Strategic report that would otherwise 
be required to be disclosed in this Directors’ report. The Strategic 
report can be found on pages 1 to 37.

82

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Statement of Directors’ responsibilities.
The Directors are required by the Companies Act 2006 to prepare 
financial statements for each financial year that give a true and fair 
view of the state of affairs of the Group and the Company as at the 
end of the financial year, and of the profit or loss of the Group for 
the financial year. Under that law, the Directors are required to 
prepare the Group financial statements in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by 
the European Union (EU) and have elected to prepare the Parent 
Company financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom 
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including FRS 101 
‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’ (UK Accounting Standards 
and applicable law).

In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are 
required to:

 – select suitable accounting policies and then apply them 

consistently;

 – make judgements and accounting estimates that are 

reasonable and prudent;

 – state whether IFRS as adopted by the EU and applicable 
UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to 
any material departures disclosed and explained in the Group 
and Parent Company financial statements respectively;

 – present information, including accounting policies, in a 

manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and 
understandable information;

 – provide additional disclosures when compliance with the 

specific requirements in IFRS are insufficient to enable users 
to understand the impact of particular transactions, other 
events and conditions on the entity’s financial position and 
financial performance; and

 – prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis, 
unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group and the 
Company will continue in business.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting 
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Group’s 
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the 
financial position of the Group and the Company, and which enable 
them to ensure that the financial statements and the Directors’ 
remuneration report comply with the Companies Act 2006 and, 
as regards the Group financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS 
Regulation. They also have general responsibility for taking such 
steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of 
the Group and the Company, and to prevent and detect fraud 
and other irregularities. The Directors are responsible for the 
maintenance and integrity of the Company’s website. Legislation in 
the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination 
of financial statements may differ from legislation in other 
jurisdictions. The Directors consider that the Annual Report 
and Financial Statements, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced 
and understandable and provides the information necessary 
for shareholders to assess the Group’s and the Company’s 
performance, business model and priorities. Each of the Directors, 
whose names and functions are set out on pages 40 to 42 confirm 
that, to the best of their knowledge:

 – the financial statements, which have been prepared in 

accordance with the relevant financial reporting framework, 
give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial 
position and profit or loss of the Group and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken as a whole; and

 – the Strategic report contained within this document includes a 

fair review of the development and performance of the business 
and the position of the Group and the undertakings included in 
the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a description 
of the principal risks and uncertainties that the Group faces.

By order of the Board

Robert Welch 
Group Company Secretary

9 April 2019

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

83

Corporate governanceIndependent auditor’s report to the members of Tesco PLC

 contingent liabilities;

 presentation of the Group’s income statement; and

 retail technology environment, including IT security.

Within this report, any new key audit matters are identified  
with 
 and any key audit matters which are the same as the 
prior year identified with 

.

Key audit matters have been updated for the current 
year where required.

Materiality
We have considered a number of benchmarks and determined 
that it is appropriate to base materiality on profit before tax 
before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles. 
The materiality that we used for the Group financial statements 
was £80m (2017/18: £50m) which equates to 4.7% (2017/18: 4.4%) 
of profit before tax before exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangibles. Refer to page 89 for further details of 
exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.

Scoping
Our audit scoping provides full scope audit coverage of 95% 
(2017/18: 96%) of revenue and 95% (2017/18: 92%) of net assets. 
Following the completion of the Group’s merger with Booker the 
acquired business became part of our full audit scope. The Group’s 
convenience retail business, One Stop, is no longer subject to 
specific audit procedures due to the business not being 
significant in the context of the Group.

Significant changes in our approach
Our 2018/19 report includes three new key audit matters:

 – Booker IFRS 3 acquisition accounting judgements and 

presentation of results;

 – IFRS 16 presentation and disclosure; and

 – Tesco Bank: loan impairment. 

We no longer report inventory valuation as a key audit matter due 
to a reduction in the required level of management judgement.

Conclusions relating to going concern, principal risks and 
viability statement
Going concern
We have reviewed the Directors’ statement on page 83 to 
the financial statements about whether they considered it 
appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting 
in preparing them and their identification of any material 
uncertainties to the Group’s and Parent Company’s ability 
to continue to do so over a period of at least twelve months 
from the date of approval of the financial statements.

We considered as part of our risk assessment the nature of 
the Group, its business model and related risks including, where 
relevant the impact of Brexit, the requirements of the applicable 
financial reporting framework and the system of internal control. 
We evaluated the directors’ assessment of the Group’s ability to 
continue as a going concern, including challenging the underlying 
data and key assumptions used to make the assessment, and 
evaluated the directors’ plans for future actions in relation to 
their going concern assessment.

We are required to state whether we have anything material to 
add or draw attention to in relation to that statement required 
by Listing Rule 9.8.6R(3) and report if the statement is materially 
inconsistent with our knowledge obtained in the audit.

We confirm that we have nothing material to report, add or 
draw attention to in respect of these matters.

Report on the audit of the financial statements
Opinion

In our opinion:
 – the	financial	statements	of	Tesco	PLC	(the	‘Parent	Company’)	
and	its	subsidiaries	(the	‘Group’)	give	a	true	and	fair	view	of	
the state of the Group’s and of the Parent Company’s affairs 
as at 23 February 2019 and of the Group’s profit for the year 
then ended;

 – the Group financial statements have been properly prepared 

in accordance with International Financial Reporting 
Standards	(IFRSs)	as	adopted	by	the	European	Union;
 – the Parent Company financial statements have been 

properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom 
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice including FRS 101 
‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’; and

 – the financial statements have been prepared in 

accordance with the requirements of the Companies 
Act 2006 and, as regards the Group financial statements, 
Article 4 of the IAS Regulation.

We have audited the financial statements which comprise:

 – the Group income statement;

 – the Group statement of comprehensive income;

 – the Group and Parent Company balance sheets;
 – the Group and Parent Company statements of changes in equity;

 – the Group cash flow statement; and

 – the related Notes 1 to 36 of the Group financial statements and 

Notes 1 to 17 of the Parent Company financial statements.

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the 
preparation of the Group financial statements is applicable law 
and IFRSs as adopted by the European Union. The financial 
reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation 
of the Parent Company financial statements is applicable law 
and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 101 
‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’ (United Kingdom 
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International 
Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. 
Our responsibilities under those standards are further 
described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit 
of the financial statements section of our report.

We are independent of the Group and the Parent Company in 
accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to 
our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the 
Financial Reporting Council’s (the ‘FRC’s’) Ethical Standard as 
applied to listed public interest entities, and we have fulfilled 
our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these 
requirements. We confirm that the non-audit services 
prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard were not provided 
to the Group or the Parent Company.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient 
and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Summary of our audit approach
Key audit matters
The key audit matters that we identified in the current year were:

  Booker IFRS 3 acquisition accounting judgements and 
presentation of results;

 IFRS 16 presentation and disclosure;

 Tesco Bank: loan impairment;

 store impairment review;

 recognition of commercial income;

 pension obligation valuation;

84

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Principal risks and viability statement
Based solely on reading the Directors’ statements and considering 
whether they were consistent with the knowledge we obtained in 
the course of the audit, including the knowledge obtained in the 
evaluation of the Directors’ assessment of the Group’s and the 
Parent Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, we are 
required to state whether we have anything material to add or 
draw attention to in relation to:

 – the disclosures on pages 32 to 37 that describe the principal 
risks and explain how they are being managed or mitigated;

 – the Directors’ confirmation on page 32 that they have carried 

out a robust assessment of the principal risks facing the Group, 
including those that would threaten its business model, future 
performance, solvency or liquidity; or

 – the Directors’ explanation on page 37 as to how they have 
assessed the prospects of the Group, over what period 
they have done so and why they consider that period to be 
appropriate, and their statement as to whether they have a 
reasonable expectation that the Group will be able to continue in 
operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period 
of their assessment, including any related disclosures drawing 
attention to any necessary qualifications or assumptions.

We are also required to report whether the Directors’ statement 
relating to the prospects of the Group required by Listing Rule 
9.8.6R(3) is materially inconsistent with our knowledge obtained 
in the audit.

We confirm that we have nothing material to report, add or 
draw attention to in respect of these matters.

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional 
judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the financial 
statements of the current period and include the most significant 
assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to 
fraud) that we identified. These matters included those which 
had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy the 
allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts 
of the engagement team. 

These matters were addressed in the context of our audit 
of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our 
opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion 
on these matters.

Key audit matter description

How the scope of our audit responded to the key audit matter

Key observations

 Booker IFRS 3 acquisition accounting judgments and presentation of Booker results

Booker IFRS 3 acquisition 
accounting judgements 
Management’s key estimates 
underpinning the IFRS 3 
acquisition accounting 
exercise, in relation to the 
completeness and valuation 
of separately identifiable 
assets and the fair value 
valuation of land and buildings 
are reasonable.

Presentation of 
Booker results
The inclusion of Booker’s 
results within the UK & ROI 
segment is in compliance with 
IFRS 8 with the presentation 
being reflective of how the 
CODM monitors performance 
and allocates resources to 
the business.

Booker IFRS 3 acquisition accounting judgements 
As described in Note 31 (Business combinations), on 5 
March 2018, the Group completed the acquisition of 
Booker Group plc for consideration of £3,993m. The 
transaction has been accounted for in accordance with 
IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’. £3,093m of goodwill and 
£900m of other assets or liabilities have been recognised, 
including £755m of acquired intangible assets.
We have identified a key audit matter in relation to the 
completeness and valuation of separately identifiable 
assets recognised upon acquisition and the key 
assumptions underpinning the fair valuation of 
£220m of acquired land and buildings.
The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit 
matter is set out on page 58. 

Presentation of Booker results
As described in Note 1 (Accounting policies, judgements 
and estimates) and Note 2 (Segmental reporting), 
following the acquisition of Booker on 5 March 2018, 
management has applied judgment in their decision to 
present Booker within the UK & ROI segment under IFRS 
8 ‘Operating Segments’.
Management’s key considerations include the fact that 
Booker is managed on an integrated basis with the rest 
of the UK retail business and the Chief Operating 
Decision Maker (CODM) monitors performance and 
allocates resources at a combined UK & ROI level which 
includes Booker.
The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit 
matter is set out on page 59.

Booker IFRS 3 acquisition accounting judgements
Our audit procedures included assessing the design 
and implementation of key controls which relate 
to the completeness and valuation of identifiable 
intangible assets and the fair valuation of acquired 
land and buildings.
In order to address this key audit matter we have 
completed audit procedures including:
 – engaging our valuation specialists to assist in assessing 
the completeness and key valuation assumptions such 
as the discount rate and long-term growth rates;

 – challenging management’s key cash flow assumptions 
with reference to industry benchmarks and historical 
performance; and

 – engaging our real estate experts to assist with the 

assessment of management’s property fair valuations.

Presentation of Booker results 
Our audit procedures included assessing the design 
and implementation of the key controls relating to the 
segmental presentation of the Booker results.
Our procedures to assess management’s judgment 
include assessing the following key matters in the 
context of the guidance provided by IFRS 8:
 – reviewing management’s internal reporting to verify 
that the CODM monitors performance and allocates 
resources at a combined UK & ROI level which 
includes Booker;

 – challenging management over the extent and 

timeliness of the integration of Booker’s 
performance information into the UK & ROI 
management information; and

 – assessing whether the Group’s external reporting 

narrative and its internal reporting lines were 
consistent with the inclusion of Booker within 
the UK & ROI segment.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

85

Financial statementsIndependent auditor’s report to the members of Tesco PLC continued

Key audit matter description

How the scope of our audit responded to the key audit matter

Key observations

The key estimates and 
judgements underpinning the 
Group’s IFRS 16 impact 
assessment are appropriate.

Management’s provision is 
reasonably stated, and is 
supported by a methodology 
that is consistently applied 
and compliant with IFRS 9.

 IFRS 16 presentation and disclosure

As described in Note 1 (Accounting policies, judgements 
and estimates), IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ will be effective for 
the accounting period commencing 24 February 2019.
Within Note 36 management notes IFRS 16 will have a 
significant impact on the reported assets, liabilities and 
the income statement of the Group (a reduction in the 
Group’s net assets of £1.3bn as at 23 February 2019 
and a decrease in 2018/19 statutory profit before tax 
of £57m). The expected impact of the IFRS 16 transition 
is reliant upon a number of key estimates, primarily 
determining the appropriate discount rates for 
each lease.
Additionally, there is a risk that the lease data which 
underpin the IFRS 16 transition calculation are 
incomplete or inaccurate.
The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit 
matter is set out on page 58.

 Tesco Bank: Loan impairment

As described in Note 17 (Loans and advances to 
customers and banks) the Group holds a loan 
impairment provision of £485m (2017/18: £238m) against 
loans and advances to customers within Tesco Bank.
Loan impairment provisioning is considered a key audit 
matter as it involves significant judgement to be applied 
by management in order to estimate expected future 
losses. As described in Note 1 (Accounting policies, 
estimates and judgements) for 2018/19 management’s 
provisioning methodology changed from an “incurred 
loss” model to an “expected loss” model following the 
adoption of IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ resulting in 
a £219m transitional increase in the Group’s loan 
impairment provision requirement.
The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit 
matter is set out on page 58.

Our audit procedures included assessing the design and 
implementation of the key controls relating to the 
determination of the IFRS 16 transition impact disclosure.
Our procedures to assess management’s key modelling 
estimates and the completeness/accuracy of the 
underlying lease data included:
 – assessing the discount rates used to calculate the 

lease obligation and measure any impairment of the 
right of use asset with support from our valuation 
specialists;

 – assessing the accuracy of the lease data by testing the 
lease data captured by management for a sample of 
leases through the inspection of lease documentation;

 – testing the completeness of the lease data by 

reconciling the Group’s existing lease commitments to 
the lease data underpinning the IFRS 16 model; and

 – assessing the treatment of historical sale and 

leaseback transactions and property joint venture 
arrangements in the context of IFRS 16.

Our audit procedures included assessing the design and 
implementation of key controls which relate to the 
determination of loan impairments.
In order to address this key audit matter we have 
completed audit procedures including:
 – challenging the quantitative and qualitative triggers 
used to identify significant increases in credit risk to 
assess whether they are appropriate, consistently 
applied and based on reasonable information and 
meet the requirements of IFRS 9;

 – assessing and challenging the key assumptions used by 
management with reference to industry benchmarks 
and our credit risk specialists;

 – testing that these key assumptions have been 

accurately reflected in the calculation of expected 
credit losses;

 – performing completeness and accuracy testing over 
the data supporting management’s key assumptions; 

 – testing that these key assumptions have been 

accurately reflected in the calculation of expected 
credit losses; and 

 – with support from our economic modelling experts, 
challenging the macro-economic scenarios including 
Brexit scenarios, incorporated by management.

86

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Key audit matter description

 Store impairment review

As described in Note 1 (Accounting policies, judgements 
and estimates) and Note 11 (Property, plant and 
equipment), the Group held £19,023m (2017/18: £18,521m) 
of property, plant and equipment at 23 February 2019.
Under IFRS, the Group is required to complete an 
impairment review of its store portfolio where there 
are indicators of impairment or impairment reversal.
Judgement is required in identifying indicators of 
impairment and estimation is required in determining 
the recoverable amount of the Group’s store portfolio. 
Additionally, there is judgement in relation to triggering the 
reversals of impairments recognised in previous periods.
There is a risk that the carrying value of stores and related 
fixed assets may be higher than the recoverable amount. 
Where a review for impairment, or reversal of impairment, 
is conducted, the recoverable amount is determined 
based on the higher of ‘value-in-use’ or ‘fair value less 
costs of disposal’.
The three areas which are key to management’s 
impairment review are as follows:
 – value-in-use is derived from cash flow projections 

which rely upon Directors’ assumptions and estimates 
of future trading performance, including the Group’s 
ability to realise forecast cost savings;

 – value-in-use is calculated by a number of complex 
models and as such there is a risk the models are 
not calculating the value-in-use accurately; and
 – the fair value of properties in each of the Group’s 

territories.

As noted within Note 11, the Group has incorporated 
a Brexit risk adjustment in the UK & ROI segment to 
reflect the associated risks in the Group’s modelling.
As a result of the Group’s store impairment review 
completed during the year, a net impairment reversal 
of £73m (2017/18: net impairment reversal of £187m) 
was recognised.
The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit 
matter is set out on page 58.

 Recognition of commercial income

As described in Note 1 (Accounting policies, judgements and 
estimates) and Note 20 (Commercial Income), the Group 
has agreements with suppliers whereby volume-related 
allowances, promotional and marketing allowances and 
various other fees and discounts are received in connection 
with the purchase of goods for resale from those suppliers. 
As such, the Group recognises a reduction in cost of sales as 
a result of amounts receivable from those suppliers. 
In accordance with IFRS, commercial income should only 
be recognised as income within the income statement 
when the performance conditions associated with it have 
been met, for example where the marketing campaign 
has been held.
The variety and number of the buying arrangements 
with suppliers can make it complex to determine the 
performance conditions associated with the income, 
giving rise to a requirement for management judgement. 
As such we have identified this as a key audit matter and 
considered that there was a potential for fraud through 
possible manipulation of this income.
The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit matter 
is set out on page 58.

How the scope of our audit responded to the key audit matter

Key observations

We note actions are required 
by the Group to achieve 
these forecasts over the 
medium-term. We concluded 
that the assumptions in the 
impairment models, 
specifically in the value-in-
use calculations, were within 
an acceptable range, and 
that the overall level of net 
reversal of impairment was 
reasonable.
Additionally, the Group’s 
incorporation of the risks 
associated with Brexit is 
considered to be appropriate.

Our audit procedures included assessing the design and 
implementation of key controls around the impairment 
review processes.
In relation to the Group’s value-in-use assessment 
our procedures have included:
 – challenging the key assumptions utilised in the cash 
flow forecasts with reference to historical trading 
performance, market expectations and the 
reasonableness of management’s forecasts;

 – reviewing and challenging the adequacy of 

management’s sensitivity analysis in relation to key 
assumptions to consider the extent of change in those 
assumptions that either individually or collectively would 
be required for the assets to be impaired, in particular 
forecast cash flows and property fair values; and

 – assessing the accuracy of the value-in-use modelling 

with reference to the requirements of IAS 36 
‘Impairment of Assets’ and checking the integrity of 
the Group’s value-in-use models.

In relation to the Group’s ‘fair value less costs of disposal’, 
we have challenged the Group’s fair value assumptions 
using internal property valuation specialists and assessing 
whether appropriate valuation methodologies have been 
used and sufficient consideration given to comparable 
retail sector valuation evidence.

The results of our testing are 
satisfactory. We consider the 
disclosure given around 
supplier rebates to provide 
an appropriate understanding 
of the types of rebate income 
received and the impact on 
the Group’s balance sheet.

Our audit procedures included assessing the design and 
implementation of key controls the Group has established 
in relation to commercial income recognition.
In addition, we performed the following:
 – testing whether amounts recognised were accurate and 

recorded in the correct period, by agreeing to the 
contractual performance obligations in a sample of 
individual supplier agreements;

 – testing commercial income balances included within 

inventories and trade and other receivables, or netted 
against trade and other payables (as set out in Note 20) 
via balance sheet reconciliation procedures;

 – circularising a sample of suppliers to test whether the 

arrangements recorded were complete. Where responses 
from suppliers were not received, we completed 
alternative procedures such as agreement to underlying 
contractual arrangements;

 – holding discussions with a sample of the Group’s buying 
personnel to further understand the buying processes, 
where required; 

 – using data analytics to profile commercial income, identify 

deals which exhibited characteristics of audit interest 
upon which we completed detailed audit testing;
 – reviewing the Group’s ongoing compliance with the 

Groceries Supplier Code of Practice (GSCOP). Additionally, 
reviewing the reporting and correspondence to the 
Group’s supplier hotline in order to identify any areas of 
non-compliance which may require further investigation;
 – considering the Booker commercial income arrangements 

and compliance with the Group’s relevant accounting 
practices; and

 – considering the adequacy of related disclosure within the 

Group’s financial statements.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

87

Financial statementsIndependent auditor’s report to the members of Tesco PLC continued

Key audit matter description

How the scope of our audit responded to the key audit matter

Key observations

 Pension obligation valuation

As described in Note 1 (Accounting policies, judgements 
and estimates) and Note 27 (Post-employment benefits), 
the Group has a defined benefit pension plan in the UK 
retail business. At 23 February 2019, the Group recorded 
a net retirement obligation before deferred tax of 
£2,808m (2017/18: £3,282m), comprising scheme assets 
of £15,054m (2017/18: £13,235m) and scheme liabilities of 
£17,862m (2017/18: £16,517m). 
The pension obligation valuation is material, dependent 
on market conditions, and sensitive to changes in key 
assumptions. The key audit matter specifically relates to 
the following key assumptions: discount rate, inflation 
expectations and life expectancy assumptions. 
The setting of these assumptions is complex and 
requires the exercise of significant management 
judgement with the support of third party actuaries.
The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit 
matter is set out on page 58.

 Contingent liabilities

As described in Note 1 (Accounting policies, judgements 
and estimates) and Note 32 (Contingent liabilities) the 
Group has a number of contingent liabilities. Judgement 
is required in assessing the likelihood of outflow, the 
potential quantum of any outflow and the associated 
disclosure requirements.
This key audit matter specifically relates to the following 
exposures:
 – in 2016/17 UK shareholder actions were initiated 
against the Group linked to the overstatement of 
expected profits in 2014 which may result in legal 
exposures; 

 – following the sale of Homeplus in 2015 the Group has 

received claims from the purchaser relating to the sale 
of the business; and

 – Tesco Stores Limited has received claims from current 
and former store colleagues alleging that their work is 
of equal value to that of colleagues working in the 
Group’s distribution centres and that differences in 
terms and conditions relating to pay are not objectively 
justifiable. 

The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit 
matter is set out on page 58.

 Presentation of the Group’s income statement

One of the Group’s key performance indicators is ‘Group 
operating profit before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles’ (2018/19: £2,206m, 
2017/18: £1,646m).
Refer to Note 2 (Segmental reporting) for management’s 
reconciliation of this key performance indicator to the 
Group’s statutory profit measure.
Management judgement is required when applying this 
accounting policy and when determining the 
classification of items as exceptional within the Group’s 
income statement. We have determined that there was 
a potential for fraud through possible manipulation of 
the Group’s income statement presentation due to the 
level of judgement involved and remuneration targets 
being linked to the key performance indicator.
The Audit Committee’s discussion of this key audit 
matter is set out on page 59.

Our audit procedures included assessing the design and 
implementation of key controls in relation to the pension 
obligation valuation process. 
In testing the pension valuation, we have utilised internal 
pension actuarial specialists to review the key actuarial 
assumptions used, both financial and demographic, and 
considered the methodology utilised to derive these 
assumptions. Furthermore, we have benchmarked and 
performed a sensitivity analysis on the key assumptions 
determined by the Directors. 

We are satisfied that 
the methodology and 
assumptions applied in 
relation to determining the 
pension valuation are within 
an acceptable range.

Our audit procedures included assessing the design 
and implementation of key controls in relation to the 
monitoring of known exposures. 
In assessing the potential exposures to the Group, 
we have completed a range of procedures including:
 – assessing the risks the business faces;
 – reading Board and other meeting minutes to identify 

areas subject to Group consideration; 

 – meeting with the Group’s internal legal advisors to 

understand ongoing and potential legal matters and 
reviewing third party correspondence and reports;

 – assessing the reasonableness of management’s 

likelihood and quantification of outflow assessment; 
and 

 – reviewing the proposed accounting and disclosure of 
actual and potential legal liabilities, drawing on third 
party assessment of open matters.

We conclude that the Group’s 
contingent liabilities 
disclosure is complete. 
Specifically, the accounting 
and disclosures in relation 
to the ongoing UK 
shareholder actions, claims 
from the purchasers of the 
Homeplus business and the 
Group’s equal pay matter 
are appropriate.

Our audit procedures included assessing the design and 
implementation of key controls which address the risk of 
inappropriate presentation of the Group’s income 
statement.
In order to address this key audit matter we have 
completed audit procedures including: 
 – considering exceptional items disclosed by the Group 
and the existence of any further potential exceptional 
items included within the Group’s underlying profit 
measures;

 – assessing whether any bias exists in management’s 

presentation of results and assessing consistency of 
application across multiple financial years; 

 – assessing transactions completed outside of the 

normal course of business; and

 – assessing the appropriateness of excluding 

amortisation of intangible assets acquired in business 
combinations from Group’s operating profit alternative 
performance measure.

We note that consistent with 
other businesses of a similar 
scale to the Group, there are 
non-recurring income and 
expense items included within 
profit before exceptional 
items and amortisation of 
acquired intangibles which 
do not meet the Group’s 
definition of exceptional 
items and which largely offset. 
We concur that these have 
been appropriately included 
within profit before 
exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired 
intangibles.

88

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Key audit matter description

How the scope of our audit responded to the key audit matter

Key observations

 Retail technology environment, including IT security

The Group’s retail operations utilise a range of 
information systems. In 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 
we reported deficiencies in certain IT controls. These 
deficiencies could have an adverse impact on the 
Group’s controls and financial reporting systems. 
As described on page 57 within the Audit Committee’s 
report, in 2018/19 the Group has implemented a new 
general ledger system for the UK business and is 
continuing the replacement of a number of its key 
systems as well as making changes to key elements of 
the Group’s IT infrastructure to address the identified 
deficiencies. There is a risk the related data transfer 
process is incomplete or inaccurate. 

We have continued to challenge and assess changes to 
the IT environment through the testing of remediated 
controls and concluding on the sufficiency and 
appropriateness of management’s changes. 
During the year we have assessed the design and 
implementation of the Group’s key controls over the 
information systems that are important to financial 
reporting, including the changes made as part of the 
Group’s replacement programme. 
Consistent with 2017/18, in 2018/19 we were not able to 
take a control reliant audit approach due to the ongoing 
weaknesses in the IT environment. 
Where we noted deficiencies which affected 
applications and databases within the scope of our 
audit, we extended the scope of our substantive 
audit procedures.

Although management’s 
remediation plan is designed 
to address our concerns, 
given the complexity of the 
underlying systems the plan 
is a multi-year programme 
and not yet complete, and 
therefore weaknesses remain 
in the control environment. 
We note that management’s 
actions have reduced the 
number of deficiencies in the 
year relating to user access 
and change management 
controls linked to the 
Group’s financial reporting.

Our application of materiality
We define materiality as the magnitude of misstatement in the 
financial statements that makes it probable that the economic 
decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable person would be changed 
or influenced. We use materiality both in planning the scope of 
our audit work and in evaluating the results of our work.

Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality 
for the financial statements as a whole as follows:

Group financial  
statements

£80m (2017/18: £50m)
4.7% (2017/18: 4.4%) of profit 
before tax before exceptional 
items and amortisation of 
acquired intangibles of £1,716m 
(2017/18: £1,145m). 
Refer to Note 9 for additional 
details of profit before tax 
before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired 
intangibles and management’s 
reconciliation to the Group’s 
statutory measure.
Component materiality has been 
determined with reference to 
the component’s contribution to 
the Group’s overall result. The 
materiality applied by the 
component auditors ranges 
between £24m and £52m.

Profit before tax before 
exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired 
intangibles is an appropriate 
metric since it is a key 
performance indicator and is 
not impacted by any potential 
volatility which may be caused 
by exceptional items and 
amortisation as a result of 
acquired intangibles recognised 
under IFRS 3.
The materiality selected 
represents 0.5% (2017/18: 0.5%) 
of the Group’s net assets.

Materiality
Basis for 
determining 
materiality

Rationale 
for the 
benchmark 
applied

Profit before 
tax, exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles 
£1,716m

Parent Company financial 
statements

£52m (2017/18: £35m)
Materiality represents 
less than 1% (2017/18: 
less than 1%) of 
net assets.

As this is the Parent 
Company of the 
Group, it does not 
generate significant 
revenues but instead 
incurs costs. 
Net assets are of 
most relevance to 
users of the financial 
statements.

Group materiality £80m

Component materiality 
range £52m to £24m

Audit Committee reporting 
threshold £4m

We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to 
the Audit Committee all audit differences in excess of £4m 
(2017/18: £2.5m) for the Group and the Parent Company, as well 
as differences below that threshold that, in our view, warranted 
reporting on qualitative grounds. We also report to the Audit 
Committee on disclosure matters that we identified when 
assessing the overall presentation of the financial statements.

An overview of the scope of our audit
Our Group audit was scoped by obtaining an understanding of the 
Group and its environment, including Group-wide controls, and 
assessing the risks of material misstatement at the Group level. 
The Group has subsidiary grocery retail operations in eight 
countries, together with interests in a number of other 
businesses both in the UK and internationally.

The Group’s accounting process is structured around local finance 
functions and is further supported by a shared service centre in 
Bengaluru, India which provides accounting and administrative 
support for the Group’s core retail operations. Each local finance 
function reports into the central Group finance function based at 
the Group’s head office. Based on our assessment of the Group, 
we focused our Group audit scope primarily on the audit work 
on 8 significant retail locations (UK, Booker, Republic of Ireland, 
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Thailand) and 
Tesco Bank. The operations in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland 
and Slovakia are managed as one combined business. All of these 
were subject to a full audit and represent 95% (2017/18: 96%) of 
the Group’s revenue and 95% (2017/18: 92%) of net assets.

In addition, 3 other businesses (Malaysia, Dunnhumby and Tesco 
Mobile) were subject to specific audit procedures on material 
account balances, where the extent of our testing was based on 
our assessment of the risks of material misstatement and of the 
size of the Group’s operations at those locations. The 3 businesses 
accounted for 3% (2017/18: 4%) of the Group’s revenue and 6% 
(2017/18: 9%) of net assets. The Group’s convenience retail 
business, OneStop, is no longer subject to specific audit 
procedures due to the business not being significant in the 
context of the Group.

At the parent entity level we also tested the consolidation process 
and carried out analytical procedures to confirm our conclusion 
that there were no significant risks of material misstatement of the 
aggregated financial information of the remaining components not 
subject to audit or audit of specified account balances. 

The most significant component of the Group is its retail business 
in the UK. As such, there is extensive interaction between the 
Group and UK audit team to an appropriate level of direction and 
supervision in this audit work. During the course of our audit, 
the UK audit team visited 50 (2017/18: 50) retail stores in the UK 
to attend either inventory counts or in order to complete store 
control visits, and 4 (2017/18: 4) distribution centre inventory counts.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

89

Financial statementsIndependent auditor’s report to the members of Tesco PLC continued

The Group audit team visited 7 (2017/18: 6) of the 8 (2017/18: 7) 
significant locations set out above, in addition to Tesco Bank and 
the Group’s shared service centre in Bengaluru, with the Group 
Audit Partner visiting 3 (2017/18: 4) of these locations. We also 
had a dedicated senior member of the audit team focused on 
overseeing the role of the component audit teams located outside 
of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, ensuring that we applied a 
consistent audit approach to the operations in the Group’s 
international business.

The audit visits by the Group audit team were timed to enable us 
to be involved during the planning and risk assessment process in 
addition to the execution of detailed audit procedures. During our 
visits, we attended key meetings with component management and 
auditors, and reviewed detailed component auditor work papers.

In addition, all key component audit teams were represented 
during a centralised two-day planning meeting led by the 
Group audit team and held in the UK prior to the commencement 
of our detailed audit work. The purpose of this planning meeting 
was to ensure a good level of understanding of the Group’s 
businesses, its core strategy and a discussion of the significant 
risks and workshops on our planned audit approach. Group 
management also attended part of the meeting to support 
these planning activities.

Other information
The Directors are responsible for the other information. The other 
information comprises the information included in the annual report, 
other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other 
information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our 
report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our 
responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, 
consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent 
with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the 
audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. 

If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material 
misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a 
material misstatement in the financial statements or a material 
misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have 
performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this 
other information, we are required to report that fact.

In this context, matters that we are specifically required to report 
to you as uncorrected material misstatements of the other 
information include where we conclude that:

 – Fair, balanced and understandable – the statement given by 

the Directors that they consider the annual report and 
financial statements taken as a whole is fair, balanced and 
understandable and provides the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the Group’s position and performance, 
business model and strategy, is materially inconsistent with our 
knowledge obtained in the audit; or

 – Audit Committee reporting – the section describing the work of 
the Audit Committee does not appropriately address matters 
communicated by us to the Audit Committee; or

 – Directors’ statement of compliance with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code – the parts of the Directors’ statement 
required under the Listing Rules relating to the Company’s 
compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code containing 
provisions specified for review by the auditor in accordance with 
Listing Rule 9.8.10R(2) do not properly disclose a departure from 
a relevant provision of the UK Corporate Governance Code.

We have nothing to report in respect of these matters.

Responsibilities of Directors
As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities statement, 
the Directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial 
statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, 
and for such internal control as the Directors determine is necessary 

to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from 
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing 
the financial statements, the Directors are responsible for assessing 
the Group’s and the Parent Company’s ability to continue as a going 
concern, disclosing as applicable, matters related to going concern 
and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Directors 
either intend to liquidate the Group or the Parent Company or to 
cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the 
financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether 
the financial statements as a whole are free from material 
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an 
auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is 
a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit 
conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material 
misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or 
error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, 
they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic 
decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the 
financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s 
website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description 
forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of 
detecting irregularities, including fraud
We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the 
financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then 
design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, 
including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate 
to provide a basis for our opinion.

Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in 
respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with 
laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

 –  enquiring of management, the Group’s Internal Audit function, 
the Group’s Security function, the Group’s Compliance Officer, 
the Group’s General Counsel and the Audit Committee, including 
obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning 
the Group’s policies and procedures relating to:

 – identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations 

and whether they were aware of any instances of non-
compliance;

 –  detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they 
have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and

 –  the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to 

fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations including the 
Group’s controls relating to GSCOP requirements;

 –  discussing among the engagement team including significant 

component audit teams and involving relevant internal 
specialists, including tax, valuations and pensions regarding how 
and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any 
potential indicators of fraud. As part of this discussion, we 
identified potential for fraud in the following areas: timing of 
recognition of commercial income, posting of unusual journals 
and complex transactions and manipulating the Group’s 
alternative performance profit measures and other key 
performance indicators to meet remuneration targets and 
externally communicated targets; and

 –  obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory 

frameworks that the Group operates in, focusing on those laws 
and regulations that had a direct effect on the financial 
statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations 
of the Group. The key laws and regulations we considered in this 
context included GSCOP, UK Companies Act, Listing Rules, 
employment law, health and safety, pensions legislation and 
tax legislation. 

90

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Audit response to risks identified
As a result of performing the above, we identified the presentation 
of Group’s income statement and recognition of commercial 
income as key audit matters. The key audit matters section of our 
report explains the matters in more detail and also describes the 
specific procedures we performed in response to those key 
audit matters.

In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks 
identified included the following:

 –  reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to 

supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant 
laws and regulations discussed above;

 – enquiring of management, the Audit Committee and in-house 
legal counsel concerning actual and potential litigation and 
claims;

 – performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or 
unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material 
misstatement due to fraud;

 – reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance, 
reviewing internal audit reports and reviewing correspondence 
with HMRC; and

 – in addressing the risk of fraud through management override 
of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and 
other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in 
making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; 
and evaluating the business rationale of any significant 
transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of 
business.

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and 
potential fraud risks to all engagement team members including 
internal specialists and significant component audit teams, and 
remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with 
laws and regulations throughout the audit.

Report on other legal and regulatory requirements
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion the part of the Directors’ remuneration report to 
be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the 
Companies Act 2006.

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

 – the information given in the Strategic report and the Directors’ 
report for the financial year for which the financial statements 
are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

 – the Strategic report and the Directors’ report have been 

prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group 
and of the Parent Company and their environment obtained in 
the course of the audit, we have not identified any material 
misstatements in the Strategic report or the Directors’ report.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception
Adequacy of explanations received and accounting records
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to 
you if, in our opinion:

 – we have not received all the information and explanations we 

require for our audit;

 – adequate accounting records have not been kept by the Parent 
Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been 
received from branches not visited by us; or

 – the Parent Company financial statements are not in agreement 

with the accounting records and returns.

We have nothing to report in respect of these matters. 

Directors’ remuneration
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are also required to report if in 
our opinion certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration have not 
been made or the part of the Directors’ remuneration report to be 
audited is not in agreement with the accounting records and returns. 

We have nothing to report in respect of these matters.

Other matters
Auditor tenure
Following the recommendation of the Audit Committee, we were 
appointed by the Group’s shareholders on 26 June 2015 to audit 
the financial statements for the year ended 27 February 2016 and 
subsequent financial periods. The period of total uninterrupted 
engagement including previous renewals and reappointments of 
the firm is four years, covering financial years ending 27 February 
2016 to 23 February 2019.

Consistency of the audit report with the additional report to 
the audit committee
Our audit opinion is consistent with the additional report to 
the Audit Committee we are required to provide in 
accordance with ISAs (UK).

Use of our report
This report is made solely to the Company’s members, as a body, 
in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. 
Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the 
Company’s members those matters we are required to state to 
them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest 
extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility 
to anyone other than the Company and the Company’s members 
as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions 
we have formed.

Panos	Kakoullis	(Senior	statutory	auditor)

for and on behalf of Deloitte LLP 
Statutory Auditor 
London, United Kingdom

9 April 2019

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

91

Financial statements52 weeks ended
24 February 2018 (restated*)

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m

Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles 
(Note 4)
£m

Total
£m

63,911
(59,767)
4,144

(2,075)
84
2,153

35
22
(536)
1,674

(354)
1,320

57,493
(54,092)
3,401

(1,786)
31
1,646

(6)
67
(562)
1,145

(286)
859

–

–

1,320

 859

859

–
859

1,322

(2)
1,320

13.65p
13.55p

13.65p
13.55p

–
(49)
(49)

153
89
193

–
–
(38)
155

(20)
135

216

351

349

2
351

Total
£m

57,493
 (54,141)
3,352

(1,633)
120
1,839

(6)
67
(600)
1,300

(306)
994

216

1,210

1,208

2
1,210

14.80p
14.75p

12.15p
12.11p

Group income statement

Continuing operations
Revenue
Cost of sales
Gross profit/(loss)

Administrative expenses
Profits/(losses) arising on property-related items
Operating profit/(loss)

Share of post-tax profits/(losses) of joint ventures and associates
Finance income
Finance costs
Profit/(loss) before tax

Taxation
Profit/(loss) for the year from continuing operations

Discontinued operations
Profit/(loss) for the year from discontinued operations

Profit/(loss) for the year

Attributable to:
Owners of the parent

Non-controlling interests

Earnings/(losses) per share from continuing 
and discontinued operations
Basic
Diluted

Earnings/(losses) per share from continuing operations
Basic
Diluted

Notes

2

13
5
5

6

7

9
9

9
9

52 weeks ended 
23 February 2019

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m

Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles 
(Note 4)
£m

63,911
(59,695)
4,216

(1,989)
(21)
2,206

24
22
(536)
1,716

(413)
1,303

–

1,303

1,305

(2)
1,303

–
(72)
(72)

(86)
105
(53)

11
–
–
(42)

59
17

–

17

17

–
17

The notes on pages 98 to 161 form part of these financial statements.

*  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15 and reclassification of derivative interest income as explained in Note 1 and Note 36.

92

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Group	statement	of	comprehensive	income/(loss)

Items that will not be reclassified to income statement
Remeasurement gains/(losses) of defined benefit pension schemes
Tax on items that will not be reclassified

Items that may subsequently be reclassified to income statement
Change in fair value of debt instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income
Change in fair value of available-for-sale financial assets and investments
Currency translation differences:

Retranslation of net assets of overseas subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates
Movements in foreign exchange reserve and net investment hedging on subsidiary disposed, reclassified 
and reported in the Group income statement

Gains/(losses) on cash flow hedges:

Net fair value gains/(losses)
Reclassified and reported in the Group income statement

Tax on items that may be reclassified

Total other comprehensive income/(loss) for the year
Profit/(loss) for the year
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the year

Attributable to:
Owners of the parent
Non-controlling interests
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the year

Total comprehensive income/(loss) attributable to owners of the parent arising from:
Continuing operations
Discontinued operations

The notes on pages 98 to 161 form part of these financial statements.

*  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15 as explained in Note 1 and Note 36.

Notes

27
6

6

52 weeks
2019
£m

52 weeks
2018
(restated*)
£m

364
(61)
303

(10)
–

100
–

130
(57)
5
168
471
1,320
1,791

1,793
(2)
1,791

1,793
–
1,793

3,265
(554)
2,711

–
(62)

179
140

(146)
(52)
22
81
2,792
1,210
4,002

3,995
7
4,002

3,639
356
3,995

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

93

Financial statementsGroup balance sheet

Non-current assets
Goodwill and other intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment
Investment property
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Trade and other receivables
Loans and advances to customers and banks
Derivative financial instruments
Deferred tax assets

Current assets

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Loans and advances to customers and banks
Derivative financial instruments
Current tax assets
Short-term investments
Cash and cash equivalents

Non-current assets classified as held for sale

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Borrowings
Derivative financial instruments
Customer deposits and deposits from banks
Current tax liabilities
Provisions

Net current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Borrowings
Derivative financial instruments
Customer deposits and deposits from banks
Post-employment benefit obligations
Deferred tax liabilities
Provisions

Net assets
Equity
Share capital
Share premium
All other reserves
Retained earnings
Equity attributable to owners of the parent
Non-controlling interests

Total equity

23 February
2019
£m

Notes

24 February
2018
(restated*)
£m

10
11
12
13
14
16
17
23
6

14
15
16
17
23

18
18

 7

19
21
23
24
6
25

19
21
23
24
27
6
25

28

6,264
19,023
36
704
979
195
7,868
1,178
132
36,379

67
2,617
1,640
4,882
52
6
390
2,916
12,570
98
12,668

(9,354)
(1,599)
(250)
(8,832)
(325)
(320)
(20,680)
(8,012)

(384)
(5,673)
(389)
(3,296)
(2,808)
(236)
(747)
(13,533)
14,834

490
5,165
3,798
5,405
14,858
(24)

14,834

2,661
18,521
100
689
860
186
6,885
1,117
116
31,135

68
2,264
1,504
4,637
27
12
1,029
4,059
13,600
149
13,749

(8,994)
(1,479)
(69)
(7,812)
(335)
(544)
 (19,233)
(5,484)

(364)
(7,142)
(594)
(2,972)
(3,282)
(96)
(721)
 (15,171)
10,480

410
5,107
735
4,250
10,502
(22)

10,480

The notes on pages 98 to 161 form part of these financial statements.

*  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15 as explained in Note 1 and Note 36.

Dave Lewis

Alan Stewart
Directors
The financial statements on pages 92 to 161 were approved and authorised for issue by the Directors on 9 April 2019.

94

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Group statement of changes in equity

At 24 February 2018  
(as previously reported)
Cumulative adjustment to 
opening balances from 
application of IFRS 15  
(net of tax) (Note 36)
At 24 February 2018 
(restated(a))
Adjustment on initial application 
of IFRS 9 (net of tax) (Note 36)
At 25 February 2018
Profit/(loss) for the year
Other comprehensive 
income/(loss)
Change in fair value of financial 
assets at fair value through 
other comprehensive income
Currency translation 
differences
Remeasurements of defined 
benefit pension schemes
Gains/(losses) on cash flow 
hedges
Tax relating to components of 
other comprehensive income
Total other comprehensive 
income/(loss)
Total comprehensive 
income/(loss)
Transactions with owners
Purchase of own shares
Share–based payments
Issue of shares (Note 28)
Dividends (Note 8)
Tax on items charged to equity
Total transactions with owners
At 23 February 2019

–

–

410

5,107

–

410
–

–

5,107
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–
80
–
–
80
490

–
–
58
–
–
58
5,165

–

–

1

1
–

–

–

–

(6)

–

(6)

(6)

–
–
–
–
–
–
(5)

Share 
capital 
£m
410

Share 
premium 
£m
5,107

Currency 
basis 
reserve 
£m
–

Capital 
redemption 
reserve 
£m
16

All other reserves

Hedging 
reserve 
£m
40

Translation 
reserve 
£m
655

Own 
shares 
held 
£m
(16)

–

–

–

–

Merger 
reserve(b)

£m
40

–

Retained 
earnings 
£m
4,228

Total 
£m
10,480

Non-
controlling 
interests 
£m
(22)

Total 
equity 
£m
10,458

22

22

–

22

16

–

16
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–
16

40

655

(16)

40

4,250

10,502

(22)

10,480

(1)

39
–

–

–

–

79

–

79

79

–
–
–
–
–
–
118

–

655
–

–

100

–

–

3

103

103

–
–
–
–
–
–
758

–

(16)
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

40
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(177)

(177)

–

(177)

4,073
1,322

10,325
1,322

(22)
(2)

10,303
1,320

(10)

(10)

–

364

–

100

364

73

(59)

(56)

295

471

–

–

–

–

–

–

(10)

100

364

73

(56)

471

1,617

1,793

(2)

1,791

(277)
114
–
–
–
(163)
(179)

–
–
3,050
–
–
3,050
3,090

–
67
–
(357)
5
(285)
5,405

(277)
181
3,188
(357)
5
2,740
14,858

–
–
–
–
–
–
(24)

(277)
181
3,188
(357)
5
2,740
14,834

The notes on pages 98 to 161 form part of these financial statements.

(a)  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15 as explained in Note 1 and Note 36.
(b) 

‘Merger reserve’ was previously titled ‘Other reserves’ in prior financial years.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

95

Financial statementsGroup statement of changes in equity continued

Share 
capital 
£m
409

Share 
premium 
£m
5,096

Currency 
basis 
reserve 
£m
–

Capital 
redemption 
reserve 
£m
16

All other reserves

Hedging 
reserve 
£m
217

Translation 
reserve 
£m
350

Own  
shares  
held 
£m
(22)

–

–

409
–

5,096
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–
1
–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–
11
–
–

–
1
410

–
11
5,107

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–

16
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
16

–

217
–

–

350
–

–

–

–

–

–

(198)

21

–

–

–

314

–

–

(9)

(177)

305

(177)

305

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
40

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
655

–

(22)
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(14)
20
–
–
–

–
6
(16)

Merger
reserve(a)

£m
40

–

40
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–

Retained 
earnings 
£m
332

Non-
controlling 
interests 
£m
(24)

Total 
£m
6,438

Total 
equity 
£m
6,414

20

20

–

20

352
1,206

6,458
1,206

(24)
2

6,434
1,208

2

2

1,208

1,208

–

2

2

1,210

(62)

(62)

–

314

3,265

3,265

–

(198)

(544)

(532)

2,659

2,787

3,867

3,995

–
105
–
(80)
–

(14)
125
12
(80)
–

–

5

–

–

–

5

7

–
–
–
–
(5)

(62)

319

3,265

(198)

(532)

2,792

4,002

(14)
125
12
(80)
(5)

–
–
40

6
31
4,250

6
49
10,502

–
(5)
(22)

6
44
10,480

At 25 February 2017  
(as previously reported)
Adjustment on initial application 
of IFRS 15 (net of tax) (Note 36)
At 25 February 2017 (restated*)
Profit/(loss) for the year (as 
previously reported)
IFRS 15 adjustment to profit/
(loss) for the period (Note 36)
Profit/(loss) for the year 
(restated*)
Other comprehensive 
income/(loss)
Change in fair value of financial 
assets at fair value through 
other comprehensive income
Currency translation 
differences
Remeasurements of defined 
benefit pension schemes
Gains/(losses) on cash flow 
hedges
Tax relating to components of 
other comprehensive income
Total other comprehensive 
income/(loss)
Total comprehensive income/
(loss) (restated*)
Transactions with owners
Purchase of own shares
Share-based payments
Issue of shares
Dividends
Changes in non-controlling 
interests
Tax on items charged to equity
Total transactions with owners
At 24 February 2018 (restated*)

The notes on pages 98 to 161 form part of these financial statements.

*  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15 as explained in Note 1 and Note 36.
(a) 

‘Merger reserve’ was previously titled ‘Other reserves’ in prior financial years.

96

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Group cash flow statement

Notes

52 weeks
2019
£m

52 weeks
2018
(restated*)
£m

Cash flows generated from/(used in) operating activities
Operating profit/(loss) of continuing operations
Depreciation and amortisation
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of subsidiaries and financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of joint ventures and associates
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and investment property
Adjustment for non-cash element of pensions charge
Additional contribution into defined benefit pension schemes
Share-based payments
Tesco Bank fair value movements included in operating profit/(loss)

Retail (increase)/decrease in inventories
Retail (increase)/decrease in development stock
Retail (increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables
Retail increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables
Retail increase/(decrease) in provisions
Retail (increase)/decrease in working capital

Tesco Bank (increase)/decrease in loans and advances to customers and banks
Tesco Bank (increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables
Tesco Bank increase/(decrease) in customer and bank deposits, trade and other payables
Tesco Bank increase/(decrease) in provisions
Tesco Bank (increase)/decrease in working capital
Cash generated from/(used in) operations
Interest paid
Corporation tax (paid)/received
Net cash generated from/(used in) operating activities
Cash flows generated from/(used in) investing activities
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment, investment property, intangible assets and non-current 
assets classified as held for sale
Purchase of property, plant and equipment, investment property and non-current assets classified as held for sale
Purchase of intangible assets
Disposal of subsidiaries, net of cash disposed
Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired
Proceeds from sale of joint ventures and associates
Net (increase)/decrease in loans to joint ventures and associates
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Net (investments in)/proceeds from sale of short-term investments
Net (investments in)/proceeds from sale of financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Dividends received from joint ventures and associates
Interest received
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities
Cash flows generated from/(used in) financing activities
Proceeds from issue of ordinary share capital
Own shares purchased
Increase in borrowings
Repayment of borrowings
Net cash flows from derivative financial instruments
Repayments of obligations under finance leases
Dividends paid to equity owners
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

The notes on pages 98 to 161 form part of these financial statements.

*  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15 and reclassification of derivative interest income as explained in Note 1 and Note 36.

27
27

31

28

8

18

2,153
1,375
(107)
(8)
–
–
(58)
45
(266)
77
127
11
(2)
98
(307)
(238)
(438)
(1,585)
4
1,348
(25)
(258)
2,642
(306)
(370)
1,966

1,839
1,295
(66)
(165)
(23)
(22)
(167)
4
(245)
113
156
55
21
(8)
280
132
480
(1,738)
34
1,820
(6)
110
3,309
(328)
(176)
2,805

286

253

(1,101)
(191)
8
(715)
–
5
(11)
639
(122)
41
18
(1,143)

60
(206)
975
(2,471)
35
(17)
(357)
(1,981)
(1,158)
4,059
15
2,916

(1,440)
(197)
 66
 (27)
23
–
(21)
1,697
236
26
27
643

11
–
313
(3,721)
253
(10)
(82)
(3,236)
212
3,832
15
 4,059

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

97

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements

Note	1	Accounting	policies,	judgements	and	estimates
General information
Tesco PLC (the Company) is a public limited company incorporated 
and domiciled in the United Kingdom (UK) under the Companies Act 
2006 (Registration number 445790). The address of the registered 
office is Tesco House, Shire Park, Kestrel Way, Welwyn Garden City 
AL7 1GA, UK.

The main activities of the Company and its subsidiaries (together, 
the Group) are those of retailing and retail banking.

Basis of preparation
The consolidated Group financial statements have been prepared 
in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards 
(IFRS) as endorsed by the European Union (EU), and those parts of 
the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under 
IFRS. The consolidated Group financial statements are presented in 
Pounds Sterling, generally rounded to the nearest million. They are 
prepared on the historical cost basis, except for certain financial 
instruments, share-based payments and pension assets that have 
been measured at fair value.

The Directors have, at the time of approving the financial 
statements, a reasonable expectation that the Company and the 
Group have adequate resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future. Thus they continue to adopt 
the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial 
statements. Further detail is contained within the going concern 
statement included in the Directors’ report on page 81.

Unless otherwise stated, the accounting policies set out below 
have been applied consistently to all periods presented in these 
consolidated financial statements.

The Group has adopted IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ and IFRS 15 
‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’ effective for the current 
financial year. IFRS 15 has been applied fully retrospectively and 
comparatives for the prior financial year have been restated, whilst 
IFRS 9 has been applied retrospectively at 25 February 2018 by 
adjusting the opening balance sheet at that date. Further details on 
the impacts of adoption of these standards is described in Note 36.

Basis of consolidation
The consolidated Group financial statements consist of the 
financial statements of the ultimate Parent Company (Tesco PLC), 
all entities controlled by the Company (its subsidiaries) and the 
Group’s share of its interests in joint ventures and associates.

The financial year represents the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 
(prior financial year 52 weeks ended 24 February 2018). For the UK 
and the Republic of Ireland (UK & ROI), the results are for the 52 
weeks ended 23 February 2019 (prior financial year 52 weeks ended 
24 February 2018). For all other operations, the results are for the 
calendar year ended 28 February 2019 (prior calendar year ended 
28 February 2018).

Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are consolidated in the Group’s financial statements 
from the date that control commences until the date that 
control ceases.

Intragroup balances and any unrealised gains and losses or income 
and expenses arising from intragroup transactions are eliminated 
in preparing the consolidated financial statements.

Joint ventures and associates
The Group’s share of the results of joint ventures and associates 
is included in the Group income statement and Group statement 
of comprehensive income/(loss) using the equity method of 
accounting. Investments in joint ventures and associates are 
carried in the Group balance sheet at cost plus post-acquisition 
changes in the Group’s share of the net assets of the entity, less 
any impairment in value. The carrying values of investments in 
joint ventures and associates include acquired goodwill.

98

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

If the Group’s share of losses in a joint venture or associate 
equals or exceeds its investment in the joint venture or associate, 
the Group does not recognise further losses, unless it has incurred 
obligations to do so or made payments on behalf of the joint 
venture or associate. Dividends received from joint ventures or 
associates with nil carrying value are recognised in the Group 
income statement as part of the Group’s share of post-tax profits/
(losses) of joint ventures and associates.

Unrealised gains arising from transactions with joint ventures 
and associates are eliminated to the extent of the Group’s 
interest in the entity.

Prior financial year reclassification of derivative interest 
income
During the current financial year, the Group reclassified interest 
income arising from derivative financial instruments hedging the 
Group’s borrowings from finance income to finance costs. This 
reclassification more appropriately reflects the net finance costs 
to the Group. Prior financial year comparatives have been restated 
to align to the current financial year approach. The impact of this 
reclassification on prior financial year amounts has been a 
reduction of finance costs and finance income in the Group 
income statement by £31m, and a reduction of interest received 
and interest paid in the Group cash flow statement by £23m.

Line item name changes
‘Loans and advances to customers’ has been renamed ‘Loans 
and advances to customers and banks’. There were no balances 
relating to banks in this line in prior financial years.

‘Other investments’ has been renamed ‘Financial assets at fair 
value through other comprehensive income’.

Revenue
Revenue is income arising from the sale of goods and services in 
the ordinary course of the Group’s activities, net of value added 
taxes. Revenue is recognised when performance obligations are 
satisfied and control has transferred to the customer. For the 
majority of revenue streams, there is a low level of judgement 
applied in determining the transaction price or the timing of 
transfer of control.

Sale of goods
The sale of goods represents the vast majority of the Group’s 
revenue. For goods sold in store, revenue is recognised at the 
point of sale. For online or wholesale sales of goods, revenue is 
recognised on collection by, or delivery to, the customer. Revenue 
is reduced by a provision for expected returns (refund liability). An 
asset and corresponding adjustment to cost of sales is recognised 
for the Group’s right to recover goods from customers.

Clubcard (customer loyalty programme)
Clubcard points issued by Tesco when a customer purchases 
goods are a separate performance obligation providing a material 
right to a future discount. The total transaction price (sales price of 
goods) is allocated to the Clubcard points and the goods sold based 
on their relative standalone selling prices, with the Clubcard points 
standalone price based on the value of the points to the customer, 
adjusted for expected redemption rates (breakage). The amount 
allocated to Clubcard points is deferred as a contract liability within 
trade and other payables. Revenue is recognised as the points are 
redeemed by the customer.

Financial services
Revenue consists of interest, fees and income from the provision 
of retail banking and insurance.

Interest income on financial assets that are measured at amortised 
cost is determined using the effective interest rate method.

Calculation of the effective interest rate takes into account fees 
receivable that are an integral part of the instrument’s yield, 
premiums or discounts on acquisition or issue, early redemption 
fees and transaction costs. Interest income is calculated on the 
gross carrying amount of a financial asset unless the financial asset 
is impaired, in which case interest income is calculated on the 
amortised cost.

The majority of the fees in respect of services (credit card 
interchange fees, late payment and ATM revenue) are recognised at 
the point in time at which the transaction with the customer takes 
place and the service is performed. For services performed over 
time, payment is generally due monthly in line with the satisfaction 
of performance obligations.

The Group generates commission from the sale and service of 
motor and home insurance policies underwritten by Tesco 
Underwriting Limited, or in a minority of cases by a third-party 
underwriter. This is based on commission rates, which are 
independent of the profitability of underlying insurance policies. 
Similar commission income is also generated from the sale of 
white label insurance products underwritten by other third-
party providers. This commission income is recognised on a net 
basis as such policies are sold.

In the case of some commission income on insurance policies 
managed and underwritten by a third party, the Group recognises 
commission income from policy renewals as such policies are sold. 
This is when the Group has satisfied all of its performance 
obligations in relation to the policy sold and it is considered highly 
probable that a significant reversal in the amount of revenue 
recognised will not occur in future periods. This calculation takes 
into account both estimates of future renewal volumes and 
renewal commission rates. A contract asset is recognised in 
relation to this revenue. This is unwound over the remainder of 
the contract with the customer, in this case being the third-party 
insurance provider.

The end policy holders have the right to cancel an insurance policy 
at any time. Therefore, a contract liability is recognised for the 
amount of any expected refunds due and the revenue recognised 
in relation to these sales is reduced accordingly. This contract 
refund liability is estimated using prior experience of customer 
refunds. The appropriateness of the assumptions used in this 
calculation is reassessed at each reporting date.

Commercial income
Consistent with standard industry practice, the Group has 
agreements with suppliers whereby volume-related allowances, 
promotional and marketing allowances and various other fees and 
discounts are received in connection with the purchase of goods 
for resale from those suppliers. Most of the income received from 
suppliers relates to adjustments to a core cost price of a product, 
and as such is considered part of the purchase price for that 
product. Sometimes receipt of the income is conditional on the 
Group performing specified actions or satisfying certain 
performance conditions associated with the purchase of the 
product. These include achieving agreed purchases or sales 
volume targets and providing promotional or marketing materials 
and activities or promotional product positioning. While there is 
no standard industry definition, these amounts receivable from 
suppliers in connection with the purchase of goods for resale are 
generally termed commercial income.

Commercial income is recognised when earned by the Group, 
which occurs when all obligations conditional for earning income 
have been discharged, and the income can be measured reliably 
based on the terms of the contract. The income is recognised as 
a credit within cost of sales. Where the income earned relates to 
inventories which are held by the Group at the reporting date, the 
income is included within the cost of those inventories, and 
recognised in cost of sales upon sale of those inventories.

Amounts due relating to commercial income are recognised within 
trade and other receivables, except in cases where the Group 
currently has a legally enforceable right of set-off and intends to 
offset amounts due from suppliers against amounts owed to those 

suppliers, in which case only the net amount receivable or payable 
is recognised. Accrued commercial income is recognised within 
accrued income when commercial income earned has not been 
invoiced at the reporting date.

Finance income
Finance income, excluding income arising from financial services, 
is recognised in the period to which it relates using the effective 
interest rate method.

Finance costs
Finance costs directly attributable to the acquisition or 
construction of qualifying assets are capitalised. Qualifying assets 
are those that necessarily take a substantial period of time to 
prepare for their intended use. All other borrowing costs are 
recognised in the Group income statement in finance costs, 
excluding those arising from financial services, in the period in 
which they occur. For Tesco Bank, finance cost on financial 
liabilities is determined using the effective interest rate method 
and is recognised in cost of sales.

Business combinations and goodwill
The Group accounts for all business combinations by applying the 
acquisition method. All acquisition-related costs are expensed.

On acquisition, the assets (including intangible assets), liabilities 
and contingent liabilities of an acquired entity are measured at 
their fair values. Non-controlling interests are stated at the 
non-controlling interests’ proportion of the fair values of the 
assets and liabilities recognised.

Goodwill arising on consolidation represents the excess of the 
consideration transferred over the net fair value of the Group’s 
share of the net assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of the 
acquired subsidiary, joint venture or associate and the fair value 
of the non-controlling interest in the acquiree. If the consideration 
is less than the fair value of the Group’s share of the net assets, 
liabilities and contingent liabilities of the acquired entity (i.e. a 
bargain purchase), the difference is credited to the Group 
income statement in the period of acquisition.

At the acquisition date of a subsidiary, goodwill acquired is 
recognised as an asset and is allocated to each of the cash-
generating units or groups of cash-generating units expected to 
benefit from the business combination’s synergies and to the 
lowest level at which management monitors the goodwill. 
Goodwill arising on the acquisition of joint ventures and 
associates is included within the carrying value of the investment. 
On disposal of a subsidiary, joint venture or associate, the 
attributable amount of goodwill is included in the determination 
of the profit or loss on disposal.

Where the Group obtains control of a joint venture or associate, 
the Group’s previously held interests in the acquired entity is 
remeasured to its acquisition date fair value and the resulting 
gain or loss, if any, is recognised in the Group income statement.

Cloud software licence agreements
Licence agreements to use cloud software are treated as service 
contracts and expensed in the Group income statement, unless 
the Group has both a contractual right to take possession of the 
software at any time without significant penalty, and the ability 
to run the software independently of the host vendor. In such 
cases the licence agreement is capitalised as software within 
intangible assets.

Intangible assets
Intangible assets, such as software and pharmacy licences, are 
measured initially at acquisition cost or costs incurred to develop 
the asset. Intangible assets acquired in a business combination 
are recognised at fair value at the acquisition date.

Following initial recognition, intangible assets with finite useful 
lives are carried at cost less accumulated amortisation and 
accumulated impairment losses. They are amortised on a  
straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, at 5%–25% 
of cost per annum.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

99

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note	1	Accounting	policies,	judgements	and	estimates 
continued
Research costs are expensed as incurred. Development 
expenditure incurred on an individual project is capitalised 
only if specific criteria are met.

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment is carried at cost less accumulated 
depreciation and any recognised impairment in value. Property, 
plant and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis to 
its residual value over its anticipated useful economic life.

The following depreciation rates are applied for the Group:

 – freehold and leasehold buildings with greater than 40 years 

unexpired – at 2.5% of cost;

 – leasehold properties with less than 40 years unexpired are 

depreciated by equal annual instalments over the unexpired 
period of the lease; and

 – fixtures and fittings, office equipment and motor  

vehicles – at rates varying from 10% to 33%.

Assets held under finance leases are depreciated over their 
expected useful lives on the same basis as owned assets or, 
when shorter, over the term of the relevant lease.

Impairment of non-financial assets
Goodwill is reviewed for impairment at least annually by assessing 
the recoverable amount of each cash-generating unit, or group of 
cash-generating units, to which the goodwill relates. For all other 
non-financial assets (including other intangible assets and property, 
plant and equipment) the Group performs impairment testing 
where there are indicators of impairment. Where the asset does 
not generate cash flows that are independent from other assets, 
the Group estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-
generating unit to which the asset belongs.

The recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs of 
disposal, and value in use. When the recoverable amount is less 
than the carrying amount, an impairment loss is recognised 
immediately in the Group income statement.

Goodwill impairments are not subsequently reversed. Where 
an impairment loss on other non-financial assets subsequently 
reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating 
unit) is increased to the revised estimate of the recoverable 
amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not 
exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined 
if no impairment loss had been recognised for the asset  
(or cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an 
impairment loss is recognised immediately as a credit to 
the Group income statement.

Investment property
Investment property assets are carried at cost less accumulated 
depreciation and any recognised impairment in value. The 
depreciation policies for investment property are consistent 
with those described for property, plant and equipment.

Inventories
Inventories comprise goods and development properties held for 
resale. Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and fair value 
less costs to sell using the weighted average cost basis. Directly 
attributable costs and incomes (including applicable commercial 
income) are included in the cost of inventories.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents in the Group balance sheet consist 
of cash at bank, in hand, demand deposits with banks, loans and 
advances to banks, certificates of deposits and other receivables 
together with short-term deposits with an original maturity of 
three months or less.

Non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations
Non-current assets (or disposal groups) are classified as assets 
held for sale when their carrying amount is to be recovered 
principally through a sale transaction and a sale is considered 
highly probable. They are stated at the lower of carrying amount 
and fair value less costs to sell.

Discontinued operations
In accordance with IFRS 5 ‘Non-current Assets Held for Sale 
and Discontinued Operations’, the net results of discontinued 
operations are presented separately in the Group income 
statement (and the comparatives restated) and the assets and 
liabilities of these operations are presented separately in the 
Group balance sheet. Refer to Note 7 for further details.

Leases
Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the 
lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership 
to the lessee. All other leases are classified as operating leases.

The Group as a lessee
Assets held under finance leases are recognised as assets of the 
Group at their fair value or, if lower, at the present value of the 
minimum lease payments, each determined at the inception of 
the lease. The corresponding liability is included in the Group 
balance sheet as a finance lease obligation. Lease payments are 
apportioned between finance charges and a reduction of the 
lease obligations so as to achieve a constant rate of interest on 
the remaining balance of the liability. Finance charges are charged 
to the Group income statement. Rentals payable under operating 
leases are charged to the Group income statement on a straight-
line basis over the term of the lease.

The Group as a lessor
Amounts due from lessees under finance leases are recorded as 
receivables at the amount of the Group’s net investment in the 
leases. Finance lease income is allocated to accounting periods so 
as to reflect a constant periodic rate of return on the Group’s net 
investment in the lease. Rental income from operating leases is 
recognised on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

Sale and leaseback
A sale and leaseback transaction is one where the Group sells an 
asset and immediately reacquires the use of the asset by entering 
into a lease with the buyer.

For sale and finance leasebacks, any profit from the sale is 
deferred and amortised over the lease term. For sale and 
operating leasebacks, generally the assets are sold at fair value, 
and accordingly the profit or loss from the sale is recognised 
immediately in the Group income statement.

Post-employment obligations
For defined benefit plans, obligations are measured at discounted 
present value (using the projected unit credit method) while plan 
assets are recorded at fair value.

The operating and financing costs of such plans are recognised 
separately in the Group income statement; service costs are 
spread systematically over the expected service lives of employees 
and financing costs are recognised in the periods in which they 
arise. Actuarial gains and losses are recognised immediately in 
the Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss).

Payments to defined contribution schemes are recognised as an 
expense as they fall due.

Share-based payments
The fair value of employee share option plans, which are all 
equity-settled, is calculated at the grant date using the Black-
Scholes or Monte Carlo model. The resulting cost is charged to the 
Group income statement over the vesting period. The value of the 
charge is adjusted to reflect expected and actual levels of vesting.

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Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Taxation
The tax expense included in the Group income statement consists 
of current and deferred tax.

Goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the acquisition of 
a foreign entity are treated as assets and liabilities of the foreign 
entity and translated at the closing rate.

Current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income 
for the financial year, using tax rates enacted or substantively 
enacted by the balance sheet date. Tax expense is recognised in 
the Group income statement except to the extent that it relates 
to items recognised in the Group statement of comprehensive 
income/(loss) or directly in the Group statement of changes in 
equity, in which case it is recognised in the Group statement of 
comprehensive income/(loss) or directly in the Group statement 
of changes in equity, respectively.

Deferred tax is provided using the balance sheet liability method, 
providing for temporary differences between the carrying amounts 
of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the 
amounts used for taxation purposes.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to 
apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset realised 
based on the tax rates that have been enacted or substantively 
enacted by the balance sheet date. Deferred tax is charged or 
credited in the Group income statement, except when it relates 
to items charged or credited directly to the Group statement of 
changes in equity or the Group statement of comprehensive 
income/(loss), in which case the deferred tax is also recognised in 
equity, or other comprehensive income, respectively.

Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable 
that taxable profits will be available against which deductible 
temporary differences can be utilised.

The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each 
balance sheet date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer 
probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all 
or part of the assets to be recovered.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset against each other 
when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current taxation 
assets against current taxation liabilities and it is the intention to 
settle these on a net basis.

Tax provisions are recognised for uncertain tax positions where 
a risk of an additional tax liability has been identified and it is 
probable that the Group will be required to settle that tax. 
Measurement is dependent on management’s expectation of 
the outcome of decisions by tax authorities in the various tax 
jurisdictions in which the Group operates. This is assessed on 
a case-by-case basis using in-house tax experts, professional 
firms and previous experience. Refer to Note 6.

Foreign currencies
The consolidated financial statements are presented in 
Pounds Sterling, which is the ultimate Parent Company’s 
functional currency.

Transactions in foreign currencies are translated to the functional 
currency at the exchange rate on the date of the transaction. 
At each balance sheet date, monetary assets and liabilities that 
are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated to the 
functional currency at the rates prevailing on the balance sheet 
date. Exchange differences are recognised in the Group income 
statement in the period in which they arise, apart from exchange 
differences on transactions entered into to hedge certain foreign 
currency risks, and exchange differences on monetary items 
forming part of the net investment in a foreign operation.

The assets and liabilities of the Group’s foreign operations are 
translated into Pounds Sterling at exchange rates prevailing at 
the balance sheet date. Profits and losses are translated at 
average exchange rates for the relevant accounting periods. 
Exchange differences arising are recognised in the Group 
statement of comprehensive income/(loss) and are included 
in the Group’s translation reserve. Such translation differences 
are recognised as income or expenses in the period in which 
the operation is disposed of.

Financial instruments
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the Group 
balance sheet when the Group becomes a party to the contractual 
provisions of the instrument. Financial assets are classified as 
either fair value through profit and loss, fair value through other 
comprehensive income, or amortised cost. Classification and 
subsequent remeasurement depends on the Group’s business 
model for managing the financial asset and its cash flow 
characteristics. Assets that are held for collection of contractual 
cash flows, where those cash flows represent solely payments of 
principal and interest, are measured at amortised cost.

Trade receivables
Trade receivables are non interest-bearing and are recognised 
initially at fair value, and subsequently at amortised cost using 
the effective interest rate method, less provision for impairment.

Investments
Debt instruments are classified at fair value through other 
comprehensive income. Gains and losses arising from changes in 
fair value are recognised directly in other comprehensive income, 
except for impairment gains or losses, interest income and foreign 
exchange gains and losses, which are recognised in the income 
statement. When the debt instrument is derecognised, cumulative 
amounts in other comprehensive income are reclassified to the 
income statement.

Equity investments have been irrevocably designated at fair value 
through other comprehensive income. Gains and losses arising 
from changes in fair value are recognised directly in other 
comprehensive income, and are not subsequently reclassified 
to the Group income statement, including on derecognition. 
Impairment losses are not recognised separately from other 
changes in fair value. Dividends are recognised in the Group 
income statement when the Group’s right to receive payment 
is established.

Under IAS 39, applicable for the comparative period, the Group’s 
investments were classified as available-for-sale and recognised 
at fair value. Gains and losses arising from changes in fair value 
were recognised directly in other comprehensive income, until 
the security was disposed of or was determined to be impaired, 
at which time the cumulative gain or loss previously recognised in 
other comprehensive income was included in the Group income 
statement for the period.

Loans and advances to customers and banks
Loans and advances are initially recognised at fair value plus 
directly related transaction costs. Subsequent to initial recognition, 
these assets are carried at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method less any impairment losses.

Impairment of financial assets
The Group assesses on a forward-looking basis the expected 
credit losses (ECLs) associated with its financial assets carried at 
amortised cost and debt instruments at fair value through other 
comprehensive income. The ECLs are updated at each reporting 
date to reflect changes in credit risk.

The three-stage model for impairment has been applied to loans 
and advances to customers and banks, debt instruments at fair 
value through other comprehensive income, and loan receivables 
from joint ventures and associates. The credit risk is determined 
through modelling a range of possible outcomes for different loss 
scenarios, using reasonable and supportable information about 
past events, current conditions and forecasts of future events and 
economic conditions and taking into account the time value of 
money. A 12-month ECL is recognised, unless the credit risk on the 
financial asset increases significantly after initial recognition, when 
the lifetime ECL is recognised.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

101

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note	1	Accounting	policies,	judgements	and	estimates 
continued
For trade and other receivables, contract assets and lease 
receivables, the Group applies the simplified approach permitted 
by IFRS 9, with lifetime ECLs recognised from initial recognition of 
the receivable. These assets are grouped, based on shared credit 
risk characteristics and days past due, with ECLs for each grouping 
determined, based on the Group’s historical credit loss experience, 
adjusted for factors specific to each receivable, general economic 
conditions and expected changes in forecast conditions.

Under IAS 39, applicable for the comparative period, the Group’s 
loan impairment provisions were established to recognise incurred 
impairment losses in its portfolio of loans classified as loans and 
receivables and carried at amortised cost. At each reporting date, 
management reviewed the carrying amounts of its loans and 
advances to determine whether there was any indication that 
those assets had suffered an impairment loss.

If there was objective evidence that an impairment loss on a 
financial asset or group of financial assets classified as loans and 
advances had been incurred, management measured the amount 
of the loss as the difference between the estimated future cash 
flows from the asset or group of assets discounted at the effective 
interest rate of the instrument at initial recognition. Impairment 
losses were assessed individually for financial assets that were 
individually significant and collectively for assets that were not 
individually significant. In making collective assessments of 
impairment, financial assets were grouped into portfolios 
on the basis of similar characteristics.

Loan impairment provisions were established on a portfolio basis 
using statistical methodology taking into account the level of 
arrears, security, past loss experience, credit quality and defaults 
based on portfolio trends.

The portfolios include mortgages, credit card receivables, personal 
current accounts and personal loans. The future credit quality of 
these portfolios is subject to uncertainties that could cause actual 
credit losses to differ materially from reported impairment loan 
provisions. These uncertainties include the economic environment, 
notable interest rates and their effect on customer spending, the 
unemployment level, payment behaviour and bankruptcy trends.

Impairment losses under IAS 39 were recognised in the Group 
income statement and the carrying amount of the financial asset 
or group of financial assets reduced by establishing an allowance 
for impairment losses. If in a subsequent period the amount of 
impairment loss reduced and the reduction could be ascribed 
to an event after the impairment was recognised, the previously 
recognised loss was reversed by adjusting the allowance. Once an 
impairment loss was recognised on a financial asset or group of 
financial assets, interest income was recognised on the carrying 
amount using the rate of interest at which estimated future cash 
flows were discounted in measuring impairment.

Interest-bearing borrowings
Interest-bearing bank loans and overdrafts are initially recorded 
at fair value, net of attributable transaction costs. Subsequent 
to initial recognition, interest-bearing borrowings are stated at 
amortised cost with any difference between proceeds and 
redemption value being recognised in the Group income statement 
over the period of the borrowings on an effective interest basis.

Trade payables
Trade payables are non interest-bearing and are recognised initially 
at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using 
the effective interest method.

Equity instruments
Equity instruments issued by the Group are recorded at the 
proceeds received, net of direct issue costs.

Derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting
The Group uses derivative financial instruments to hedge its 
exposure to foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity 
risks arising from operating, financing and investing activities. 
The Group does not hold or issue derivative financial 
instruments for trading purposes.

Derivative financial instruments are recognised and stated at fair 
value. Where derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting, any 
gains or losses on remeasurement are immediately recognised in 
the Group income statement. Where derivatives qualify for hedge 
accounting, recognition of any resultant gain or loss depends on 
the nature of the hedge relationship and the item being hedged.

At inception of designated hedging relationships, the Group 
documents the risk management objective and strategy for 
undertaking the hedge, the nature of the risks being hedged and 
the economic relationship between the item being hedged and 
the hedging instrument, including whether the change in cash 
flows of the hedged item and hedging instrument are expected 
to offset each other.

As permitted under IFRS 9, the Group has elected to continue 
to apply the existing hedge accounting requirements of IAS 39 
for its portfolio hedge accounting until a new macro hedge 
accounting standard is implemented.

Derivative financial instruments with maturity dates of 
more than one year from the reporting date are disclosed 
as non-current.

Fair value hedging
Derivative financial instruments are classified as fair value hedges 
when they hedge the Group’s exposure to changes in the fair 
value of a recognised asset or liability. Changes in the fair value of 
derivatives that are designated as fair value hedges are recognised 
in the Group income statement within finance income or costs, 
together with any changes in the fair value of the hedged item that 
is attributable to the hedged risk.

Cash flow hedging
Derivative financial instruments are classified as cash flow hedges 
when they hedge the Group’s exposure to variability in cash flows 
that are either attributable to a particular risk associated with a 
recognised asset or liability, or a highly probable forecasted 
transaction. The effective element of any gain or loss from 
remeasuring the derivative instrument is recognised directly 
in the Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss) and 
the ineffective element is recognised immediately in the Group 
income statement within finance income or costs.

Amounts recognised in other comprehensive income are recycled 
to the Group income statement when the hedged item or 
transaction affects the Group income statement.

Hedge accounting is discontinued when the hedging instrument 
expires or is sold, terminated or exercised. The cumulative 
gain or loss in other comprehensive income remains until the 
forecast transaction occurs or the original hedged item affects 
the Group income statement. If a forecast hedged transaction 
is no longer expected to occur, the cumulative gain or loss in 
other comprehensive income is reclassified to the Group 
income statement.

Net investment hedging
Derivative financial instruments are classified as net investment 
hedges when they hedge the Group’s net investment in an overseas 
operation. The effective element of any foreign exchange gain or 
loss from remeasuring the derivative instrument is recognised 
directly in other comprehensive income. Any ineffective element is 
recognised immediately in the Group income statement. Gains and 
losses accumulated in other comprehensive income are included 
in the Group income statement when the foreign operation is 
disposed of.

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term constitutes substantially all of the economic life of the asset, 
or where the present value of minimum lease payments amount 
to substantially all of the fair value of the property, the lease is 
classified as a finance lease. All other leases are classified as 
operating leases.

Management further applies judgement in determining the 
accounting treatment of sale and leaseback transactions. Factors 
considered include the substance of the transaction (by applying 
the lease classification principles described above) whether or not 
the sale was made at the asset’s fair value and the relationship with 
the buyer, which is based on levels of control and influence (the 
buyer may be an associate, joint venture or an unrelated party).

Refer to Note 34 for additional disclosures on judgements 
made relating to operating leases including those arising from 
sale and leasebacks.

Operating segments
Management has assessed the retail operations in different 
countries and determined that they share similar economic 
characteristics, products, customers and supply chain operations. 
The retail operations have therefore been aggregated in the UK & 
ROI, Central Europe and Asia segments, in line with the way they 
are managed below the Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM).

Tesco Bank operates in a different industry and reports separately 
hence is a separate segment.

Following the acquisition of Booker on 5 March 2018, management 
has applied the guidance of IFRS 8 ‘Operating Segments’ in 
determining the presentation of Booker’s performance and 
balances within the Group. Management has carefully considered 
a number of areas including how the business is managed on an 
integrated basis with the rest of the UK retail business, the 
strategic rationale of the merger in forming the UK’s leading Food 
business, the significant synergies flowing across the UK businesses, 
and the level at which the CODM monitors performance and 
allocates resources to the business.

Based on these considerations, management concluded that the 
most appropriate presentation for Booker is within the UK & ROI 
segment. 

Alternative	performance	measures	(APMs)	–	Exceptional	items
Management exercises judgement in determining the adjustments 
to apply to IFRS measurements in order to derive APMs which 
provide additional useful information on the underlying trends, 
performance and position of the Group. This assessment 
covers the nature of the item, cause of occurrence and the 
scale of impact of that item on reported performance. 
Reversals of previous exceptional items are assessed based 
on the same criteria.

An analysis of the exceptional items included in the Group income 
statement, together with the impact of these items on the Group 
cash flow statement, is disclosed in Note 4 to the Group financial 
statements.

Refer to pages 178 to 181 for further details on the Group’s APMs.

Offsetting financial instruments
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount 
reported in the Group balance sheet when there is a current legally 
enforceable right to offset the recognised amounts and there is an 
intention to settle on a net basis or realise the asset and settle the 
liability simultaneously.

Provisions
Provisions are measured at the present value of the expenditures 
expected to be required to settle the obligation using a pre-tax 
discount rate that reflects current market assessments of 
the time value of money and the risks specific to the obligation. 
The increase in the provision due to passage of time is recognised 
as interest expense.

Provisions for onerous leases are recognised when the Group 
believes that the unavoidable costs of meeting or exiting the lease 
obligations exceed the economic benefits expected to be received 
under the lease.

Supplier financing agreements
Management reviews supplier financing agreements to 
determine the appropriate presentation of balances outstanding 
as trade payables or borrowings, dependent on the nature of each 
arrangement. Factors considered in determining the appropriate 
presentation include the commercial rationale for the 
arrangement, impact on the Group’s working capital positions, 
credit enhancements or other benefits provided to the bank 
and recourse exposures.

Balances outstanding under current supplier financing 
arrangements are classified as accounts payables, since the 
financing arrangements are agreed between the supplier and 
the banks, and the Group does not provide additional credit 
enhancement nor obtain any benefit from the arrangements. 
These outstanding balances are not material to the Group.

Judgements and sources of estimation uncertainty
The preparation of the consolidated Group financial statements 
requires management to make judgements, estimates and 
assumptions in applying the Group’s accounting policies to 
determine the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and 
expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on 
historical experience and various other factors that are believed to 
be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ 
from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions 
are reviewed on an ongoing basis, with revisions to accounting 
estimates applied prospectively.

Critical accounting judgements
Critical judgements, apart from those involving estimations, that 
are applied in the preparation of the consolidated financial 
statements are discussed below:

Business combinations
The acquisition of Booker Group plc (Booker) on 5 March 2018 has 
been accounted for as an acquisition of a business in accordance 
with IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’, resulting in the recognition of 
goodwill of £3,093m. This goodwill is allocated and tested for 
impairment at the UK group of cash-generating units, which is the 
level at which management monitors the goodwill. Refer to Note 10 
and Note 31 for further additional disclosures.

Joint ventures and associates
The Group has assessed the nature of its joint arrangements 
under IFRS 11 ‘Joint Arrangements’ and determined them to be joint 
ventures. The Group has also assessed that Gain Land Limited is an 
associate. These assessments required the exercise of judgement 
as set out in Note 13.

Leases
Management exercises judgement in determining the classification 
of leases as finance or operating leases at inception of the lease. 
Management considers the likelihood of exercising break clauses or 
extension options in determining the lease term. Where the lease 

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

103

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note	1	Accounting	policies,	judgements	and	estimates 
continued
Key sources of estimation uncertainty
The key assumptions about the future, and other key sources of 
estimation uncertainty at the reporting period end that may have 
a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying 
amount of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are 
discussed below:

Post-employment benefit obligations
The present value of the post-employment benefit obligations 
depends on a number of factors that are determined on an 
actuarial basis using a number of assumptions. The assumptions 
used in determining the net cost/(income) for pensions include 
the discount rate. Any changes in these assumptions will impact 
the carrying amount of post-employment benefit obligations. 
Key assumptions and sensitivities for post-employment benefit 
obligations are disclosed in Note 27.

Impairment
The Group treats each store as a separate cash-generating unit 
for impairment testing of property, plant and equipment. Where 
there are indicators of impairment, management performs an 
impairment test. Recoverable amounts for cash-generating units 
are the higher of fair value less cost of disposal, and value in use. 
Value in use is calculated from cash flow projections based on 
the Group’s three-year internal forecasts. The forecasts are 
extrapolated to five years based on management’s expectations, 
and beyond five years based on estimated long-term growth 
rates. Fair value is determined with the assistance of independent, 
professional valuers where appropriate. Key estimates and 
sensitivities are disclosed in Note 11.

Commercial income
Management is required to make estimates in determining the 
amount and timing of recognition of commercial income (as 
defined on page 99) for some transactions with suppliers. In 
determining the amount of volume-related allowances recognised 
in any period, management estimates the probability that the 
Group will meet contractual target volumes, based on historical 
and forecast performance. There is limited estimation involved in 
recognising income for promotional and other allowances.

Management assesses its performance against the obligations 
conditional on earning the income, with the income recognised 
either over time as the obligations are met, or recognised at the 
point when all obligations are met, dependent on the contractual 
requirements. Commercial income is recognised as a credit within 
cost of sales. Where the income earned relates to inventories 
which are held by the Group at period ends, the income is included 
within the cost of those inventories, and recognised in cost of sales 
upon sale of those inventories. Management views that the cost of 
inventories sold (which is inclusive of commercial income) provides 
a consistent and complete measure of the income statement 
impact of the overall supplier relationships.

Management considers the best indicator of the estimation 
undertaken is by reference to commercial income balances not 
settled at the balance sheet date and has therefore provided 
additional disclosures of commercial income amounts 
reflected in the balance sheet. Refer to Note 20 for 
commercial income disclosures.

Tesco Bank expected credit loss measurement
The measurement of ECLs for Tesco Bank financial assets 
requires the use of complex models and significant assumptions 
about future macro-economic conditions and credit behaviour, 
such as the likelihood of customers defaulting and the resulting 
losses. Key assumptions and sensitivities for Tesco Bank ECLs 
are disclosed in Note 23.

Inventories
An inventory provision is booked for cases where the realisable 
value from sale of the inventory is estimated to be lower than the 
inventory carrying value. Management has estimated the inventory 
provisioning percentage for different product categories based on 
various factors, including the expected sales profiles of the items, 
the prevailing sales prices, the item’s seasonality pattern and 
expected losses associated with slow-moving inventory items.

Contingent liabilities
Contingent liabilities are possible obligations whose existence 
will be confirmed only on the occurrence or non-occurrence of 
uncertain future events outside the Group’s control, or present 
obligations that are not recognised because it is not probable that 
a settlement will be required or the value of such a payment cannot 
be reliably estimated. The Group does not recognise contingent 
liabilities but discloses them. Refer to Note 32 for the disclosures.

Interpretations and amendments to accounting standards 
effective for the current year
The following standards were adopted in the current year, and 
further details of their impact on the Group financial statements 
are given in Note 36:

 – IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’

 – IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’

Other changes to standards, interpretations and amendments 
effective in the current year have not had a material impact on 
the Group financial statements.

Standards issued but not yet effective
At the date of authorisation of these financial statements, the 
Group has not applied the following standards that have been 
issued but are not yet effective. The Group has not adopted any 
new or amended standards early.

IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ will be adopted by the Group for the accounting 
period beginning 24 February 2019. Further details of the impact 
of IFRS 16 on the Group financial statements are given in Note 36.

The impact of the following standard is still under assessment:

 – IFRS 17 ‘Insurance Contracts’

Other changes to standards, interpretations and amendments 
issued but not yet effective are not expected to have a material 
impact on the Group financial statements.

Alternative performance measures (APMs)
In the reporting of financial information, the Directors have 
adopted various APMs. These measures are not defined by IFRS 
and therefore may not be directly comparable with other 
companies’ APMs, including those in the Group’s industry.

APMs should be considered in addition to, and are not intended 
to be a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS measurements.

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Changes to APMs
During the period, the following change has been applied to 
the Group’s APMs:

 – The Directors and management have decided to exclude 
the amortisation of intangible assets acquired in business 
combinations from profit measures. The amortisation charge 
is excluded because management does not consider the 
incremental amortisation charge arising from acquired intangible 
assets when assessing the underlying trading performance of 
the Group. Business combinations which occurred before the 
acquisition of Booker did not result in a material amortisation 
expense arising from the acquired intangible assets.

As a result of the change above, the following APMs have been 
changed to exclude the amortisation of intangible assets acquired 
in business combinations:

 – Operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation 

of acquired intangibles;

 – Profit before tax before exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair 
value remeasurements on financial instruments;

 – Earnings per share from continuing operations before 

exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements on 
financial instruments;

 – Effective tax rate before exceptional items and amortisation 

of acquired intangibles; and

 – Effective tax rate before exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair 
value remeasurements on financial instruments.

Operating margin is now calculated as Operating profit before 
exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles 
divided by revenue.

Refer to the Glossary (pages 178 to 181) for a full list, comprehensive 
descriptions and purpose of the Group’s APMs.

Purpose
The Directors believe that these APMs assist in providing additional 
useful information on the underlying trends, performance and 
position of the Group.

APMs are also used to enhance the comparability of information 
between reporting periods and geographical units (such as 
like-for-like sales), by adjusting for non-recurring or uncontrollable 
factors which affect IFRS measures, to aid users in understanding 
the Group’s performance.

Consequently, APMs are used by the Directors and management 
for performance analysis, planning, reporting and incentive-
setting purposes.

The key APMs that the Group has focused on in the period are 
as follows:

 – Group sales: This is the headline measure of revenue for the 
Group. It excludes the impact of sales made at petrol filling 
stations due to the significant volatility of fuel prices. This 
volatility is outside the control of management and can mask 
underlying changes in performance.

 – Like-for-like sales: This is a widely used indicator of a retailer’s 

current trading performance. It is a measure of growth in Group 
online sales and sales from stores that have been open for at 
least a year (but excludes prior year sales of stores closed during 
the year) at constant foreign exchange rates.

 – Operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of 

acquired intangibles: This is the headline measure of the Group’s 
performance, and is based on operating profit before the impact 
of exceptional items and amortisation of intangible assets 
acquired in business combinations. Exceptional items relate to 
certain costs or incomes that derive from events or transactions 
that fall within the normal activities of the Group but which, 
individually or, if of similar type, in aggregate, are excluded by 
virtue of their size and nature in order to reflect management’s 
view of the underlying performance of the Group.

 – Retail operating cash flow: This is the operating cash flow from 
continuing operations, excluding the effects of Tesco Bank’s 
cash flows.

 – Retail free cash flow: Retail free cash flow includes all cash flows 
from operating and investing activities and the market purchase 
of shares net of proceeds from shares issued in relation to share 
schemes, excluding the effects of Tesco Bank’s cash flows. The 
following items are excluded: investing cash flows that increase/
decrease items within Net debt, and cash flows from major 
corporate acquisitions and disposals.

 – Net debt: This excludes the net debt of Tesco Bank but includes 

that of the discontinued operations to reflect the net debt 
obligations of the Retail business.

 – Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations before 
exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements on 
financial instruments: This relates to profit after tax before 
exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles from 
continuing operations, net pension finance costs and fair value 
remeasurements on financial instruments attributable to owners 
of the parent divided by the weighted average number of 
ordinary shares in issue during the financial period adjusted for 
the effects of potentially dilutive share options.

Some of the Group’s IFRS measures are translated at constant 
exchange rates. Constant exchange rates are the average actual 
periodic exchange rates for the previous financial period and are 
used to eliminate the effects of exchange rate fluctuations in 
assessing performance. Actual exchange rates are the average 
actual periodic exchange rates for that financial period.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

105

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 2 Segmental reporting
The Group’s operating segments are determined based on the Group’s internal reporting to the Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM). 
The CODM has been determined to be the Group Chief Executive, with support from the Executive Committee, as the function primarily 
responsible for the allocation of resources to segments and assessment of performance of the segments.

Following the acquisition of Booker on 5 March 2018, management has applied judgement in determining the presentation of Booker 
within the UK & ROI Retail segment. Note 1 provides further details on the rationale for this presentation.

The principal activities of the Group are therefore presented in the following segments:

 – Retailing and associated activities (Retail) in:

 • UK & ROI – the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland;

 • Central Europe – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia; and

 • Asia – Malaysia and Thailand.

 – Retail banking and insurance services through Tesco Bank in the UK (Tesco Bank).

This presentation reflects how the Group’s operating performance is reviewed internally by management.

The CODM uses operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, as reviewed at monthly Executive 
Committee meetings, as the key measure of the segments’ results as it reflects the segments’ underlying performance for the financial year 
under evaluation. Operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles is a consistent measure within the Group 
as defined within Note 1. Refer to Note 4 for exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles. Inter-segment revenue between the 
operating segments is not material.

Income statement
The segment results and the reconciliation of the segment measures to the respective statutory items included in the Group income 
statement are as follows:

52 weeks ended 23 February 2019  
At constant exchange rates
Continuing operations
Group sales
Revenue
Operating profit/(loss) before exceptional items  
and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Operating profit/(loss)
Operating margin

UK & ROI
£m

44,876
51,636
1,536

(2)
1,534
3.0%

Central  
Europe
£m

6,058
6,325
186

46
232
2.9%

52 weeks ended 23 February 2019
At actual exchange rates
Continuing operations
Group sales
Revenue
Operating profit/(loss) before exceptional items  
and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Operating profit/(loss)
Operating margin
Share of post-tax profits/(losses) of joint ventures and associates
Finance income
Finance costs
Profit/(loss) before tax

52 weeks ended 24 February 2018 (restated)
At actual exchange rates
Continuing operations
Group sales
Revenue
Operating profit/(loss) before exceptional items  
and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Operating profit/(loss)
Operating margin
Share of post-tax profits/(losses) of joint ventures and associates
Finance income
Finance costs
Profit/(loss) before tax

Asia 
£m

4,746
4,746
279

(66)
213
5.9%

UK & ROI
£m

44,883
51,643
1,537

(2)
1,535
3.0%

UK & ROI
£m

38,656
44,914
1,059

146
1,205
2.4%

Tesco
Bank
£m

1,097
1,097
197

(30)
167
18.0%

Central  
Europe
£m

6,030
6,298
186

46
232
3.0%

Central  
Europe
£m

6,343
6,585
119

93
212
1.8%

Total at
constant
exchange
£m

56,777
63,804
2,198

(52)
2,146
3.4%

Asia 
£m

4,873
4,873
286

(67)
219
5.9%

Asia 
£m

4,947
4,947
299

(22)
277
6.0%

Foreign
exchange
£m

106
107
8

(1)
7

Tesco
Bank
 £m

1,097
1,097
197

(30)
167
18.0%

Tesco
Bank
 £m

1,047
1,047
169

(24)
145
16.1%

Total
at actual
exchange
£m

56,883
63,911
2,206

(53)
2,153
3.5%

Total
at actual
exchange
£m

56,883
63,911
2,206

(53)
2,153
3.5%
35
22
(536)
1,674

Total
at actual
exchange
£m

50,993
57,493
1,646

193
1,839
2.9%
(6)
67
(600)
1,300

Tesco Bank revenue of £1,097m (2018: £1,047m) comprises interest and similar revenues of £729m (2018: £673m) and fees and commissions 
revenue of £368m (2018: £374m).

106

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Balance sheet
The following tables showing segment assets and liabilities exclude those balances that make up net debt (cash and cash equivalents, 
short-term investments, joint venture loans and other receivables, bank and other borrowings, finance lease payables, derivative 
financial instruments and net debt of the disposal group). Net debt balances have been included within the unallocated segment to 
reflect how the Group manages these balances. Intercompany transactions have been eliminated other than intercompany transactions 
with Tesco Bank in net debt.

At 23 February 2019

Goodwill and other intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment and investment property
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Non-current financial assets at fair value through  
other comprehensive income
Non-current trade and other receivables(a) 
Non-current loans and advances to customers and banks
Deferred tax assets
Non-current assets(b)

Inventories and current trade and other receivables(c)(d)
Current loans and advances to customers and banks
Current financial assets at fair value through  
other comprehensive income
Total trade and other payables
Total customer deposits and deposits from banks
Total provisions
Deferred tax liabilities
Net current tax
Post-employment benefits
Assets classified as held for sale
Net debt (including Tesco Bank)(e)
Net assets

(a)  Excludes loans to joint ventures of £105m (2018: £138m) which form part of net debt.
(b)  Excludes derivative financial instrument non-current assets of £1,178m (2018: £1,117m).
(c)  Excludes net interest and other receivables of £1m (2018: £1m) which form part of net debt. 
(d)  Excludes loans to joint ventures of £28m (2018: £nil) which form part of net debt. 
(e)  Refer to Note 30.

At 24 February 2018 (restated)
Goodwill and other intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment and investment property
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Non-current financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive 
income
Non-current trade and other receivables(a) 
Non-current loans and advances to customers and banks
Deferred tax assets
Non-current assets(b)

Inventories and current trade and other receivables(c)(d)
Current loans and advances to customers and banks
Current financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Total trade and other payables
Total customer deposits and deposits from banks
Total provisions
Deferred tax liabilities
Net current tax
Post-employment benefits
Assets classified as held for sale
Net debt (including Tesco Bank)(e)
Net assets

(a)-(e) Refer to previous table for footnotes.

UK & ROI
£m

4,927
13,638
12

3
52
–
–
18,632

3,066
–

–
(7,627)
–
(889)
(196)
(265)
(2,788)
68
–
10,001

UK & ROI
£m
1,281
13,190
12

3
30
–
18
14,534

2,435
–
–
(7,236)
–
(1,034)
(21)
(263)
(3,261)
95
–
5,249

Central 
Europe
£m

27
2,669
1

–
5
–
24
2,726

487
–

–
(801)
–
(65)
(28)
(12)
–
30
–
2,337

Central 
Europe
£m
36
2,799
1

–
6
–
33
2,875

610
–
–
(853)
–
(110)
(35)
(9)
–
54
–
2,532

Asia
 £m

284
2,690
605

–
14
–
50
3,643

390
–

–
(1,069)
–
(61)
(12)
(11)
(20)
–
–
2,860

Asia
 £m
271
2,564
586

–
12
–
65
3,498

399
–
–
(1,028)
–
(47)
(32)
(16)
(21)
–
–
2,753

Tesco
Bank
 £m

1,026
62
86

976
19
7,868
58
10,095

285
4,882

67
(241)
(12,128)
(52)
–
(31)
–
–
(378)
2,499

Tesco
Bank
 £m
1,073
68
90

857
–
6,885
–
8,973

323
4,637
68
(241)
(10,784)
(74)
(8)
(35)
–
–
(288)
2,571

Unallocated 
£m

–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(2,863)
(2,863)

Unallocated 
£m
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(2,625)
(2,625)

Total
£m

6,264
19,059
704

979
90
7,868
132
35,096

4,228
4,882

67
(9,738)
(12,128)
(1,067)
(236)
(319)
(2,808)
98
(3,241)
14,834

Total
£m
2,661
18,621
689

860
48
6,885
116
29,880

3,767
4,637
68
(9,358)
(10,784)
(1,265)
(96)
(323)
(3,282)
149
(2,913)
10,480

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

107

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 2 Segmental reporting continued
Other segment information

52 weeks ended 23 February 2019
Capital expenditure (including acquisitions 
through business combinations):

Property, plant and equipment(a)
Investment property
Goodwill and other intangible assets(b) 

Depreciation and amortisation:

Property, plant and equipment
Investment property
Other intangible assets

Impairment:

Property, plant and equipment loss
Property, plant and equipment reversal
Investment property loss
Investment property reversal
Goodwill and other intangible assets loss
Other intangible assets reversal
Financial assets net (loss)/reversal

UK & ROI
£m

Central  
Europe
£m

1,028
–
4,005

(699)
(1)
(201)

(46)
129
–
2
(5)
–
(20)

113
–
17

(136)
–
(14)

(64)
86
(1)
–
(16)
5
–

Asia 
£m

232
–
3

(234)
–
(7)

(36)
4
–
–
–
–
(1)

(a) 

(b) 

Includes £326m acquired through business combinations.
Includes £3,861m (2018: £8m) of goodwill and other intangible assets acquired through business combinations.

52 weeks ended 24 February 2018 (restated)
Capital expenditure (including acquisitions 
through business combinations):
Property, plant and equipment
Investment property
Goodwill and other intangible assets 

Depreciation and amortisation:

Property, plant and equipment
Investment property
Other intangible assets

Impairment:

Property, plant and equipment loss
Property, plant and equipment reversal

Investment property loss
Investment property reversal
Goodwill and other intangible assets loss
Other intangible assets reversal
Financial assets net (loss)/reversal

UK & ROI
£m

Central  
Europe
£m

940
1
141

(686)
(1)
(121)

(50)
154

–
3
(20)
4
(6)

117
–
16

(147)
–
(18)

(6)
112

(1)
2
(8)
–
3

Asia 
£m

236
–
3

(230)
–
(9)

(32)
9

–
–
–
–
(1)

Tesco
Bank
£m

Total continuing 
operations
£m

Discontinued 
operations
£m

4
–
27

(10)
–
(73)

–
–
–
–
–
–
(164)

1,377
–
4,052

(1,079)
(1)
(295)

(146)
219
(1)
2
(21)
5
(185)

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Tesco
Bank
£m

Total continuing 
operations
£m

Discontinued 
operations
£m

7
–
43

(12)
–
(71)

–
–

–
–
–
–
(137)

1,300
1
203

(1,075)
(1)
(219)

(88)
275

(1)
5
(28)
4
(141)

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–

–
–
–
–
–

Total
£m

1,377
–
4,052

(1,079)
(1)
(295)

(146)
219
(1)
2
(21)
5
(185)

Total
£m

1,300
1
203

(1,075)
(1)
(219)

(88)
275

(1)
5
(28)
4
(141)

108

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Cash flow statement 
The following tables provide further analysis of the Group cash flow statement, including a split of cash flows between Retail and Tesco Bank. 

52 weeks ended 23 February 2019
Operating profit/(loss) of continuing operations
Depreciation and amortisation

ATM net income
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of property, plant and equipment and 
intangible assets
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of subsidiaries and financial assets at fair 
value through other comprehensive income 
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of joint ventures and associates
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on financial assets at fair value through 
other comprehensive income
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on property, plant and equipment, 
intangible assets and investment property 
Adjustment for non-cash element of pensions charge
Additional contribution into defined benefit pension schemes
Share-based payments
Tesco Bank fair value movements included in operating profit/(loss)
Cash flows generated from operations excluding working capital
(Increase)/decrease in working capital
Cash generated from/(used in) operations*
Interest paid
Corporation tax (paid)/received
Net cash generated from/(used in) operating activities

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment, investment property, 
intangible assets and non-current assets classified as held for sale
Purchase of property, plant and equipment, investment property and 
non-current assets classified as held for sale – store buybacks
Purchase of property, plant and equipment, investment property and 
non-current assets classified as held for sale – other capital expenditure
Purchase of intangible assets
Disposal of subsidiaries, net of cash disposed
Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired (Note 31)
Proceeds from sale of joint ventures and associates
Net increase/(decrease) in loans to joint ventures and associates
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Net (investments in)/proceeds from sale of short-term investments
Net (investments in)/proceeds from sale of financial assets at fair value 
through other comprehensive income
Dividends received from joint ventures and associates
Dividends received from Tesco Bank
Interest received
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities
Proceeds from issue of ordinary share capital
Own shares purchased

Add: Cash outflow from major acquisition (Note 31) 
Less: Net increase/(decrease) in loans to joint ventures and associates
Less: Net investments in/(proceeds from sale of) short-term investments
APM: Free cash flow
Increase in borrowings
Repayment of borrowings
Net cash flows from derivative financial instruments
Repayment of obligations under finance leases
Dividends paid to equity holders
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities

Intra-Group funding and intercompany transactions

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m
2,009
1,214
(34)

5

(1)

–
–

(3)

45
(266)
82
–
3,051
(312)
2,739
(301)
(302)
2,136

22

(136)

(962)

(164)
8
(715)
–
–
(11)
639
(5)

31
50
18
(1,225)
60
(206)
747
–
(639)
873
704
(2,046)
35
(17)
(357)
(1,827)

(14)

(930)

Retail

Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m
(23)
78
–

(104)

(7)

–
–

Retail  
Total
£m
1,986
1,292
(34)

(99)

(8)

–
–

(55)

(58)

Tesco Bank

Tesco Group

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m
197
83
34

Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m
(30)
–
–

(8)

–

–
–

–

–
–
(5)
127
428
(223)
205
(5)
(68)
132

1

–

(3)

(27)
–
–
–
5
–
–
(124)

10
(50)
–
(188)
–
–
–
(5)
–
(61)
271
(425)
–
–
–
(154)

–

–

–
–

–

–
–
–
–
(30)
(35)
(65)
–
–
(65)

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(65)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Tesco  
Bank
Total
£m
167
83
34

(8)

–

–
–

–

–
–
(5)
127
398
(258)
140
(5)
(68)
67

1

–

Total
£m
2,153
1,375
–

(107)

(8)

–
–

(58)

45
(266)
77
127
3,338
(696)
2,642
(306)
(370)
1,966

286

(136)

(3)

(965)

(27)
–
–
–
5
–
–
(124)

10
(50)
–
(188)
–
–
–
(5)
–
(126)
271
(425)
–
–
–
(154)

(191)
8
(715)
–
5
(11)
639
(122)

41
–
18
(1,143)
60
(206)
747
(5)
(639)
780
975
(2,471)
35
(17)
(357)
(1,981)

45
(266)
82
–
2,940
(438)
2,502
(301)
(302)
1,899

285

(136)

(962)

(164)
8
(715)
–
–
(11)
639
2

31
50
18
(955)
60
(206)
747
–
(639)
906
704
(2,046)
35
(17)
(357)
(1,827)

(14)

14

–

14

–

(897)
2,755
15
1,873

(196)

(65)

(261)
1,304
–
1,043

(1,158)
4,059
15
2,916

–
–
–
–
(111)
(126)
(237)
–
–
(237)

263

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
7

–
–
–
270
–
–
–
–
–
33
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

33

*  APM: ‘Retail operating cash flow’ of £2,502m is the cash generated from operations of the continuing Retail business.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

109

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 2 Segmental reporting continued
Cash flow statement continued

Retail

Tesco Bank

Tesco Group

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m
1,477
1,212
(37)
(8)

Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m
217
–
–
(58)

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m
169
83
37
–

Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m
(24)
–
–
–

Retail  
Total
£m
1,694
1,212
(37)
(66)

Tesco Bank
Total
£m
145
83
37
–

52 weeks ended 24 February 2018 (restated)
Operating profit/(loss) of continuing operations
Depreciation and amortisation
ATM net income
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of property, plant and equipment and 
intangible assets
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of subsidiaries and financial assets at fair 
value through other comprehensive income 
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of joint ventures and associates
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on financial assets at fair value through 
other comprehensive income
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on property, plant and equipment, 
intangible assets and investment property 
Adjustment for non-cash element of pensions charge
Additional contribution into defined benefit pension schemes
Share-based payments
Tesco Bank fair value movements included in operating profit
Cash flows generated from operations excluding working capital
(Increase)/decrease in working capital
Cash generated from/(used in) operations*
Interest paid
Corporation tax (paid)/received
Net cash generated from/(used in) operating activities

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment, investment property, 
intangible assets and non-current assets classified as held for sale
Purchase of property, plant and equipment, investment property and 
non-current assets classified as held for sale – store buybacks
Purchase of property, plant and equipment, investment property and 
non-current assets classified as held for sale – other capital expenditure
Purchase of intangible assets
Disposal of subsidiaries, net of cash disposed
Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired
Proceeds from sale of joint ventures and associates
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Net (investments in)/proceeds from sale of short-term investments
Net (investments in)/proceeds from sale of financial assets at fair value 
through other comprehensive income
Dividends received from joint ventures and associates
Dividends received from Tesco Bank
Interest received
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities

Proceeds from issue of ordinary share capital

Less: Net (investments in)/proceeds from sale of short-term 
investments
APM: Free cash flow
Increase in borrowings
Repayment of borrowings
Net cash flows from derivative financial instruments
Repayment of obligations under finance leases
Dividends paid to equity owners
Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities
Intra-Group funding and intercompany transactions
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

(3)

(7)
(22)

(8)

4
(245)
109
–
2,472
493
2,965
(324)
(131)
2,510

175

(162)

(165)

(16)
–

(23)
(22)

(159)

(167)

–
–
–
–
(178)
(14)
(192)
–
–
(192)

78

4
(245)
109
–
2,294
479
2,773
(324)
(131)
2,318

253

(204)

(189)

(393)

(1,038)

–

(1,038)

(152)
–
(27)
4
(6)
1,697
34

26
 50
27
586

11
(1,697)

1,410
13
(3,571)
253
(10)
(82)
(3,386)
9
(281)
–
–
–

–
66
–
19
–
–
196

–
–
–
170

–
–

(22)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(22)
–
–
–

(152)
66
(27)
23
(6)
1,697
230

26
50
27
756

11
(1,697)

1,388
13
(3,571)
253
(10)
(82)
(3,386)
9
(303)
3,043
15
2,755

–

–
–

–

–
–
4
156
449
114
563
(4)
(45)
514

–

–

(9)

(45)
–
–
–
(15)
–
6

–
(50)
–
(113)

–
–

401
300
(150)
–
–
–
150
(9)
542
–
–
–

–

–
–

–

–
–
–
–
(24)
(3)
(27)
–
–
(27)

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

–
–

(27)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(27)
–
–
–

Total
£m
1,839
1,295
–
(66)

(165)

(23)
(22)

(167)

4
(245)
113
156
2,719
590
3,309
(328)
(176)
2,805

253

(393)

–

–
–

–

–
–
4
156
425
111
536
(4)
(45)
487

–

–

(9)

(1,047)

(45)
–
–
–
(15)
–
6

–
(50) 
–
(113)

–
–

374
300
(150)
–
–
–
150
(9)
515
789
–
1,304

(197)
66
(27)
23
(21)
1,697
236

26
–
27
643

11
(1,697)

1,762
313
(3,721)
253
(10)
(82)
(3,236)
–
212
3,832
15
4,059

*  APM: ‘Retail operating cash flow’ of £2,773m is the cash generated from operations of the continuing Retail business.

110

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 3 Income and expenses

Continuing operations
Profit/(loss) before tax is stated after charging/(crediting) the following:

Property rental income, of which £(35)m (2018: £(34)m) relates to investment properties
Other rental income
Direct operating expenses arising on rental-earning investment properties
Costs of inventories recognised as an expense
Inventory losses and provisions
Depreciation and amortisation charged
Operating lease expenses, of which £76m (2018: £70m) relates to hire of plant and machinery 
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on property, plant and equipment and investment property 
Net impairment loss/(reversal) of goodwill and other intangible assets
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on financial assets

Auditor’s remuneration

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor and its associates for the audit of the Company and Group financial statements
The audit of the accounts of the Company’s subsidiaries
Total audit services
Audit-related assurance services
Total audit and audit-related services
Fees payable to the Company’s auditor and its associates for other services:

Transaction services
All other non-audit services

Total non-audit services
Total auditor’s remuneration

52 weeks 
2019 
£m

52 weeks 
2018 
£m

(398)
(56)
19
48,124
1,399
1,375
1,078
(73)
16
185

52 weeks 
2019 
£m
1.6
6.4
8.0
0.5
8.5

–
3.5
3.5
12.0

(372)
(55)
17
42,297
1,373
1,295
1,018
(191)
24
141

52 weeks 
2018 
£m
1.5
5.3
6.8
0.5
7.3

1.9
4.3
6.2
13.5

Other non-audit services of £3.5m (2018: £4.3m) represents: retail consultancy services £1.3m (2018: £1.5m), provision of data repository 
services for information needed by the Group and Serious Fraud Office (SFO) £1.7m (2018: £1.8m), SFO Monitor role £0.1m (2018: £0.8m), and 
other £0.4m (2018: £0.2m). In addition to the amounts shown above, the auditor received fees of £0.2m (2018: £0.2m) for the audit of the main 
Group pension scheme. Additional information on the non-audit services provided by the auditor is provided in the Corporate governance 
report on page 60, including how objectivity and independence is safeguarded.

Employment costs, including Directors’ remuneration

Continuing operations

Wages and salaries(a)
Social security costs
Post-employment defined benefits(b)
Post-employment defined contributions
Share-based payments expense
Termination benefits(c)
Total

Notes

27
27
26

52 weeks
2019 
£m

52 weeks 
2018 
£m

6,447
520
78
332
118
151
7,646

6,026
486
38
316
252
115
7,233

(a)  Wages and salaries include £100m (2018: £nil) cost relating to cash bonuses offered in the current financial year. In the prior financial year, colleagues were offered the choice of cash or 

equity, with the corresponding cost of £124m included in the share-based payments expense line. 
Includes £43m (2018: £nil) past service cost related to guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs). This is treated as an exceptional item. Refer to Note 4 and Note 27.
Includes £145m (2018: £99m) of redundancy costs included within exceptional items. Refer to Note 4.

(b) 

(c) 

Post-employment defined contribution charges include £110m (2018: £108m) of salaries paid as pension contributions.

The table below shows the average number of employees by operating segment during the financial year.

Continuing operations
UK & ROI
Asia
Central Europe 
Tesco Bank
Total

Average number of employees

Average number of  
full-time equivalents

2019
344,117
62,403
54,301
3,684
464,505

2018
324,117
61,623
59,300
3,948
448,988

2019
223,542
44,473
50,068
3,407
321,490

2018
210,312
59,110
54,857
3,637
327,916

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

111

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 4 Exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Income statement
52 weeks ended 23 February 2019
Profit/(loss) for the year included the following exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles: 

Exceptional items and amortisation  
of acquired intangibles included in:
Exceptional items:
Tesco Direct closure costs(a)
Net restructuring and redundancy costs(b)
Provision for customer redress(c)
Release of amounts provided in relation to FCA obligations(d)
Insurance recovery of amounts in relation to FCA 
obligations(e)
Property transactions(f)
Tesco Bank FCA charge(g)
Booker integration(h)
Freetime VAT provision release(i)
Lazada contingent proceeds(j)
GMP equalisation(k)
Net impairment reversal of non-current assets and onerous 
property provisions(l)
Total exceptional items
Amortisation of acquired intangibles:
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets (Note 10)
Total exceptional items and amortisation  
of acquired intangibles

Cost of sales
£m

Administrative 
expenses
£m

Property- 
related items
£m

Total exceptional 
items and 
amortisation of 
acquired 
intangibles 
included within 
operating profit 
 £m

Share of joint 
venture and 
associates 
profits/(losses)
£m

Taxation
£m

Discontinued 
operations
£m

(38)
(159)
(16)
–
–

–
–
(8)
176
–
(37)
10

(72)

–
(72)

–
(23)
–
17
20

–
(16)
(7)
–
7
(6)
–

(8)

(78)
(86)

–
–
–
–
–

104
–
–
–
–
–
1

105

–
105

(38)
(182)
(16)
17
20

104
(16)
(15)
176
7
(43)
11

25

(78)
(53)

–
–
–
–
–

11
–
–
–
–
–
–

11

–
11

7
30
–
–
–

7
–
3
(33)
–
7
23

44

15
59

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–

(a)  This relates to impairment, redundancy and inventory losses arising from the closure of the Group’s non-food business, Tesco Direct in July 2018.
(b)  This net charge relates to simplification of our business and working practices in Central Europe £(27)m, UK & ROI £(131)m and Asia £(26)m netted off against a £2m reduction in 

business simplification costs previously provided for in Tesco Bank.

(c)  The charge of £(16)m relates to additional costs in respect of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) as a result of higher claim rates than previously estimated.
(d)  The Group had taken an exceptional charge in respect of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), including the Shareholder Compensation Scheme, in the 52 weeks to 25 February 

2017. £17m charges relating to the Shareholder Compensation Scheme have been released in the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019. 

(e)  This relates to an insurance recovery recognised relating to the Shareholder Compensation Scheme. 
(f)  As part of the Group’s strategy to maximise value from property, the Group disposed of surplus properties which generated a profit of £104m. The £11m gain relates to the Group’s 

share of the property disposal gain in Gain Land Limited, an associated undertaking of the Group.

(g)  This relates to the settlement payment to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in respect of an online fraudulent attack on Tesco Bank in 2016, as detailed in Note 25.
(h)  This covers costs incurred in integrating Booker within the Tesco Group, mainly focused on aligning distribution networks and operating platforms.
(i)  After the resolution of a dispute with HMRC regarding the treatment of VAT on Clubcard rewards, the related provision of £176m was released. Refer to Note 25.
(j)  This relates to receipt of contingent proceeds previously held back and not recognised in our sale proceeds.
(k)  This relates to a non-cash charge in respect of the Group’s defined benefit pension liability arising from equalisation of guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs) following recent high court 

ruling, as detailed in Note 27.

(l)  This comprises a net impairment reversal of £69m in property, plant and equipment, a net impairment charge of £(14)m in other intangible assets and a net charge of £(44)m in onerous 

property provisions.

112

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

52 weeks ended 24 February 2018
Profit/(loss) for the year included the following exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles: 

Cost of sales
£m

Administrative 
expenses
£m

Property- 
related items
£m

Total exceptional 
items and 
amortisation of 
acquired 
intangibles 
included within 
operating profit 
 £m

Finance costs
£m

Taxation
£m

Exceptional items 
within 
discontinued 
operations 
£m

Exceptional items and amortisation  
of acquired intangibles included in:
Exceptional items:
Net restructuring and redundancy costs
Net impairment reversal of non-current 
assets and onerous lease provisions
Provision for customer redress
Investment disposal
Disposal of opticians business
Release of amounts provided in relation  
to DPA and FCA obligations
Property transactions
Foreign exchange losses on GBP short-
term investments held in overseas entities
Exceptional items relating to discontinued 
operations 
Total exceptional items
Amortisation of acquired intangibles:
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets
Total exceptional items and amortisation  
of acquired intangibles

(75)
50

(24)
–
–
–

–
–

–

(49)

–
(49)

(34)
–

–
124
38
25

–
–

–

153

–
153

7
3

–
–
–
–

79
–

–

89

–
89

(102)
53

(24)
124
38
25

79
–

–

193

–
193

–
–

–
–
–
–

–
(38)

–

(38)

–
(38)

19
28

(3)
(25)
(7)
–

(32)
–

–

(20)

–
(20)

Cash flow statement
52 weeks ended 23 February 2019
The table below shows the impact of exceptional items on the Group cash flow statement:

Amortisation of acquired intangibles does not affect the Group’s cash flow.

Payments relating to Tesco Direct closure
Prior year restructuring and redundancy costs(a)
Current year restructuring and redundancy costs(a)
Utilisation of onerous lease provisions
Property transactions(b)
Property transactions – sale of investment in joint venture
Settlement of claims for customer redress in Tesco Bank
DPA/shareholder compensation scheme payments
Freetime VAT refund(c)
Tesco Bank FCA settlement payment
Insurance recovery of amounts in relation to FCA obligations 
Booker integration cash payments
Proceeds from sale of investments – Lazada
Proceeds from sale of opticians business
Proceeds from sale of subsidiaries treated as discontinued
Exceptional cash flows from discontinued operations
Total

(a)  These are cash outflows on settlement of restructuring and redundancy costs.
(b)  These relate to proceeds from disposal of properties primarily in UK & ROI and Central Europe.
(c)  VAT recovered in relation to the appeal against HMRC regarding the treatment of VAT on Clubcard rewards.

Cash flows from 
operating activities

Cash flows from 
investing activities

52 weeks
2019
£m
(38)
(60)
(30)
(82)
–
–
(49)
(43)
12
(16)
16
(12)
–
–
–
–
(302)

52 weeks 
2018
£m
–
(56)
(67)
(93)
9
–
(23)
(149)
160
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(219)

52 weeks
2019
£m
–
–
–
–
263
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
7
–
–
–
270

–
–

–
–
–
–

–
–

216

216

–
216

52 weeks
2018
£m
–
–
–
–
(111)
19
–
–
–
–
–
–
196
45
26
(5)
170

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

113

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 5 Finance income and costs

Continuing operations
Finance income
Interest receivable and similar income
Financial instruments – fair value remeasurements
Total finance income
Finance costs
GBP MTNs and Loans
EUR MTNs
USD Bonds
Finance charges payable under finance leases and hire purchase contracts 
Other interest payable
Capitalised interest
Financial instruments – fair value remeasurements(b)
Total finance costs before exceptional items and net pension finance costs
Net pension finance costs
Foreign exchange losses on GBP short-term investments held in overseas entities
Total finance costs
Net finance cost

(a)  Restated for reclassification of derivative interest income as detailed in Note 1.
(b)  Fair value remeasurements included £(121)m (2018: £(30)m) relating to the premium paid on the repurchase of long-dated bonds.

Note 6 Taxation
Recognised in the Group income statement

Continuing operations
Current tax (credit)/charge
UK corporation tax
Overseas tax
Adjustments in respect of prior years

Deferred tax (credit)/charge
Origination and reversal of temporary differences
Adjustments in respect of prior years

Total income tax (credit)/charge

52 weeks 
2019 
£m

52 weeks
2018 
(restated(a)) 
£m

Notes

11

27
4

22
–
22

(144)
(77)
(17)
(8)
(49)
1
(153)
(447)
(89)
–
(536)
(514)

44
23
67

(207)
(94)
(31)
(8)
(62)
2
–
(400)
(162)
(38)
(600)
(533)

52 weeks 
2019 
£m

52 weeks
2018
(restated) 
£m

221
131
(8)
344

3
7
10
354

143
118
(29)
232

25
49
74
306

The Finance Act 2016 included legislation to reduce the main rate of UK corporation tax from 20% to 19% from 1 April 2017 and to 17% from 
1 April 2020. These rate reductions were substantively enacted by the balance sheet date and therefore included in these consolidated 
financial statements. Temporary differences have been remeasured using the enacted tax rates that are expected to apply when the liability 
is settled or the asset realised.

Reconciliation of effective tax charge

Profit/(loss) before tax
Tax credit/(charge) at 19.0% (2018: 19.1%)
Effect of:

Non-qualifying depreciation
Expenses not deductible(a)
Unrecognised tax losses
Property items taxed on a different basis to accounting entries(b)
Impairment of non-current assets
Banking surcharge tax
Differences in overseas taxation rates
Adjustments in respect of prior years
Share of losses of joint ventures and associates
Irrecoverable withholding taxes
Total income tax credit/(charge)
Effective tax rate

52 weeks 
2019 
£m
1,674
(318)

(30)
(26)
(9)
21
17
(18)
14
1
7
(13)
(354)
21.1%

52 weeks
2018
(restated) 
£m
1,300
(248)

(31)
(25)
(27)
25
35
(19)
5
(20)
(1)
–
(306)
23.5%

(a)  This includes current year movements on uncertain tax positions and the release of amounts provided for in relation to DPA and FCA obligations.
(b)  This includes property items where the carrying values differ from their valuation for tax purposes and recognition of capital losses on property asset disposals.

114

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Reconciliation of effective tax charge on APMs

Profit/(loss) before tax before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Tax credit/(charge) at 19.0% (2018: 19.1%)
Effect of:

Non-qualifying depreciation
Expenses not deductible(a)
Unrecognised tax losses
Property items taxed on a different basis to accounting entries(b)
Banking surcharge tax
Differences in overseas taxation rates
Adjustments in respect of prior years
Share of losses of joint ventures and associates
Irrecoverable withholding taxes

Total income tax credit/(charge) before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Effective tax rate before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Tax charge on net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements at 19.0% on £242m (2018: 19.1% on £139m)
Change in tax rate
Total income tax credit/(charge) before exceptional items, net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements
Effective tax rate before exceptional items, net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements

52 weeks 
2019 
£m
1,716
(326)

(30)
(24)
(5)
–
(19)
7
(8)
5
(13)
(413)
24.1%
(46)
2
(457)
23.3%

52 weeks
2018
(restated) 
£m
1,145
(219)

(31)
(26)
(18)
18
(19)
5
5
(1)
–
(286)
25.0%
(26)
3
(309)
24.1%

(a)  This includes current year movements on uncertain tax positions and expenses not qualifying for tax relief.
(b)  This includes property items where the carrying values differ from their valuation for tax purposes and recognition of capital losses on property asset disposals.

Tax on items credited directly to the Group statement of changes in equity

Current tax credit/(charge) on:

Share-based payments

Deferred tax credit/(charge) on:

Share-based payments

Total tax on items credited/(charged) to the Group statement of changes in equity

Tax relating to components of the Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss)

Current tax credit/(charge) on:

Foreign exchange movements
Deferred tax credit/(charge) on:

Pensions
Fair value of movement on financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Fair value movements on cash flow hedges

Total tax on items credited/(charged) to Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss)

52 weeks 
2019 
£m

52 weeks
2018 
£m

2

3
5

–

6
6

52 weeks 
2019 
£m

52 weeks
2018 
£m

3

(61)
2
–
(56)

(9)

(554)
10
21
(532)

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

115

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 6 Taxation continued
Deferred tax
The following are the major deferred tax (liabilities)/assets recognised by the Group and movements thereon during the current and prior 
financial years.

At 25 February 2017
Adjustment on initial application of IFRS 15
(Charge)/credit to the Group income 
statement
(Charge)/credit to the Group statement 
of changes in equity
(Charge)/credit to the Group statement 
of comprehensive income/(loss)
Foreign exchange and other movements(c)
At 24 February 2018
Adjustment on initial application of IFRS 9
(Charge)/credit to the Group income 
statement
(Charge)/credit to the Group statement 
of changes in equity
(Charge)/credit to the Group statement 
of comprehensive income/(loss) 
Disposals
Business combinations
Foreign exchange and other movements(c)
At 23 February 2019

Property-
related 
items(a)
£m
(644)
–
(65)

Acquired 
intangibles
£m
–
–
–

–

–

(4)
(713)
–
46

–

–

4
(7)
–
(670)

–

–

–
–
–
15

–

–

–
(129)
–
(114)

Retirement
benefit 
obligation(b)

£m
1,122
–
(14)

–

(554)

–
554
–
(23)

–

(61)

–
–
–
470

Share-based 
payments 
£m
23
–
14

Short-term 
timing  
differences 
£m
148
(6)
(1)

Tax losses 
£m
8
–
(7)

Financial 
instruments 
£m
(38)
–
(1)

6

–

–
43
–
–

3

–

–
4
1
51

–

–

2
143
–
(28)

–

–

–
3
3
121

–

–

–
1
–
2

–

–

–
3
–
6

–

31

–
(8)
59
(22)

–

2

–
–
1
32

Total 
£m
619
(6)
(74)

6

(523)

(2)
20
59
(10)

3

(59)

4
(126)
5
(104)

(a)  Property-related items include a deferred tax liability on rolled-over gains of £287m (2018: £281m) and deferred tax assets on capital losses of £140m (2018: £119m). The remaining balance 

relates to accelerated tax depreciation. The Group does not expect a material reversal in the next financial year.

(b)  The deferred tax asset on retirement benefits is expected to reverse as additional funding contributions are made to the closed defined benefit scheme. Refer to Note 27.

(c)  The deferred tax charge for foreign exchange and other movements is a £5m credit (2018: £(2)m charge) relating to the re-translation of deferred tax balances at the balance sheet date 

and is included within the Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss) under the heading ‘Currency translation differences’.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when the Group has a legally enforceable right to do so. The following is the analysis of the 
deferred tax balances after offset:

Deferred tax assets
Deferred tax liabilities

2019 
£m
132
(236)
(104)

2018 
£m
116
(96)
20

No deferred tax liability is recognised on temporary differences of £3.7bn (2018: £3.7bn) relating to the unremitted earnings of overseas 
subsidiaries and joint ventures as the Group is able to control the timing of the reversal of these temporary differences and it is probable  
that they will not reverse in the foreseeable future. The deferred tax on unremitted earnings at 23 February 2019 is estimated to be £237m 
(2018: £216m) which relates to taxes payable on repatriation and dividend withholding taxes levied by overseas tax jurisdictions. UK tax 
legislation relating to company distributions provides for exemption from tax for most repatriated profits, subject to certain exceptions.

Unrecognised deferred tax assets
Deferred tax assets in relation to continuing operations have not been recognised in respect of the following items because it is not probable 
that future taxable profits will be available against which the Group can utilise the benefits in the relevant locations:

Deductible temporary differences
Tax losses

2019 
£m
90
199
289

2018 
£m
93
217
310

As at 23 February 2019, the Group has unused trading tax losses from continuing operations of £894m (2018: £913m) available for offset against 
future profits. A deferred tax asset has been recognised in respect of £35m (2018: £2m) of such losses. No deferred tax asset has been 
recognised in respect of the remaining £859m (2018: £911m) due to the unpredictability of future profit streams. Included in unrecognised 
tax losses are losses of £69m that will expire by 2023 (2018: £13m in 2022) and £139m that will expire between 2024 and 2039 (2018: £175m 
between 2023 and 2038). Other losses will be carried forward indefinitely.

116

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Current tax
Within the Group current tax liability of £325m is £46m of capital gains tax liabilities that may arise in respect of the contribution of the 
Group’s China operations into a venture with China Resource Enterprises Limited in 2014. 

Changes in tax law or its interpretation 
The Group operates in a number of territories which leads to the Group’s profits being subject to tax in many jurisdictions. The Group 
monitors income tax developments in these territories (which include the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative and 
European Union’s state aid investigations) which could affect the Group’s tax liabilities.

Note 7 Discontinued operations and non-current assets classified as held for sale
Non-current assets classified as held for sale

Non-current assets classified as held for sale

2019
£m

98

2018
£m

149

The non-current assets classified as held for sale consist mainly of properties in the UK and Central Europe due to be sold within one year.

Discontinued operations 
There were no discontinued operations in the year. The discontinued operations in the prior financial year related to the Group’s Turkish 
and Korean operations.

The tables below show the results of the discontinued operations which were included in the Group income statement and Group cash flow 
statement in the prior year.

Income statement

Loss after tax on disposal of Turkish operations
Net adjustments to profit/(loss) of past disposals
Total profit/(loss) after tax of discontinued operation

Cash flow statement

Net cash flows from discontinued operations, net of intercompany and disposal of subsidiary

Note 8 Dividends

Amounts recognised as distributions to owners in the financial year:
Prior financial year final dividend
Paid interim dividend*
Dividends paid to equity owners in the financial year

Proposed final dividend at financial year end

*  Excludes £2m dividends waived (2018: £nil). 

52 weeks
2019
£m
–
–
–

52 weeks
2019
£m
–

2019

2018

Pence/share

£m

Pence/share

2.00
1.67
3.67

4.10

195
162
357

402

–
1.00
1.00

2.00

52 weeks
2018
£m
(128)
344
216

52 weeks
2018
£m
(11)

£m

–
82
82

195

The proposed final dividend was approved by the Board of Directors on 9 April 2019 and is subject to the approval of shareholders at 
the Annual General Meeting. The proposed dividend has not been included as a liability as at 23 February 2019, in accordance with IAS 10 
‘Events after the reporting period’. It will be paid on 21 June 2019 to shareholders who are on the Register of members at close of business on 
17 May 2019.

A dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) is available to shareholders who would prefer to invest their dividends in the shares of the Company. 
For those shareholders electing to receive the DRIP, the last date for receipt of a new election is 31 May 2019. 

The Group has a share forfeiture programme following the completion of a tracing and notification exercise to any shareholders who have not 
had contact with Tesco PLC (the Company) over the past 12 years, in accordance with the provisions set out in the Company’s Articles. £nil 
(2018: £2m) of unclaimed dividends in relation to these shares have been adjusted for in retained earnings. Refer to Note 28 for further details.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

117

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note	9	Earnings/(losses)	per	share	and	diluted	earnings/(losses)	per	share
Basic earnings/(losses) per share amounts are calculated by dividing the profit/(loss) attributable to owners of the parent by the weighted 
average number of ordinary shares in issue during the financial year.

Diluted earnings/(losses) per share amounts are calculated by dividing the profit/(loss) attributable to owners of the parent by the weighted 
average number of ordinary shares in issue during the financial year adjusted for the effects of potentially dilutive options. The dilutive effect 
is calculated on the full exercise of all potentially dilutive ordinary share options granted by the Group, including performance-based options 
which the Group considers to have been earned. 

For the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 there were 72 million (2018: 27 million) potentially dilutive share options. As the Group has 
recognised a profit for the year from its continuing operations, dilutive effects have been considered in calculating diluted earnings per share.

Profit/(loss) (£m)
Continuing operations*
Discontinued operations
Total
Weighted average number of shares (millions)
Earnings/(losses) per share (pence)
Continuing operations
Discontinued operations
Total

2019

Potentially 
dilutive share 
options

Diluted

Basic

2018 (restated)

Potentially 
dilutive share 
options

–
–
–
72

(0.10)
–
(0.10)

1,322
–
1,322
9,758

13.55
–
13.55

992
216
1,208
8,165

12.15
2.65
14.80

–
–
–
27

(0.04)
(0.01)
(0.05)

Basic

1,322
–
1,322
9,686

13.65
–
13.65

Diluted

992
216
1,208
8,192

12.11
2.64
14.75

*  Excludes profits/(losses) from non-controlling interests of £(2)m (2018: £2m). 

Alternative performance measure: Diluted earnings/(losses) per share from continuing operations before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements on financial instruments

Profit before tax from continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles (£m)
Add: Net pension finance costs (£m) 
Add/(less): Fair value remeasurements on financial instruments (£m)
Profit before tax from continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements (£m)
Profit before tax from continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, net 
pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements attributable to the owners of the parent (£m)
Taxation on profit from continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, net 
pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements attributable to the owners of the parent (£m)
Profit after tax from continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, net 
pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements attributable to the owners of the parent (£m)

Notes

5
5

Basic weighted average number of shares (millions)
Basic earnings per share from continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired 
intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements (pence)

Diluted weighted average number of shares (millions)
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired 
intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements (pence)

52 weeks
2019
1,716
89
153
1,958

1,958

(455)

1,503

9,686
15.52

9,758
15.40

52 weeks
2018
(restated)
1,145
162
(23)
1,284

1,284

(309) 

975

8,165
11.94

8,192
 11.90

118

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 10 Goodwill and other intangible assets

Cost
At 24 February 2018
Foreign currency translation
Additions
Acquired through business combinations(b)
Reclassification(c)
Disposals
Fully amortised assets(d)
At 23 February 2019
Accumulated amortisation and impairment losses
At 24 February 2018
Foreign currency translation
Charge for the year(e)
Impairment losses
Reversal of impairment losses
Disposals
Fully amortised assets(d)
At 23 February 2019

Net carrying value
At 23 February 2019
At 24 February 2018

Goodwill 
£m

Software(a) 

£m

Customer 
relationships
£m

Intangible
assets
£m

2,458
(6)
–
3,098
–
–
–
5,550

662
(21)
–
–
–
–
–
641

4,909
1,796

3,166
1
167
–
(140)
(308)
(1,046)
1,840

2,378
–
210
17
(4)
(301)
(1,046)
1,254

586
788

–
–
–
715
–
–
–
715

–
–
72
–
–
–
–
72

643
–

392
(1)
24
48
2
(15)
(3)
447

315
(2)
13
4
(1)
(5)
(3)
321

126
77

Total
£m

6,016
(6)
191
3,861
(138)
(323)
(1,049)
8,552

 3,355
(23)
295
21
(5)
(306)
(1,049)
2,288

6,264
2,661

(a)  Software includes £297m (2018: £395m) of internally generated development costs.
(b)  The acquisition of Booker on 5 March 2018 resulted in recognition of additional goodwill of £3,093m, customer relationships of £715m and other intangible assets of £40m. Refer to  

Note 31. This goodwill is supported by the expected increase in cash flows for the combined UK retail business and has been reflected at the UK level, consistent with the lowest level 
at which management monitors that goodwill.

(c)  Reclassification includes £(105)m reclassified between property, plant and equipment and other intangible assets prior to removal from the fixed assets registers. 

(d)  During the current financial year, the Group performed a comprehensive review of all fully amortised assets held in the Group’s fixed asset registers, and removed £1,049m of cost 
and accumulated amortisation and impairment losses relating to those fully amortised assets which are no longer in use by the Group. This change will provide users with a greater 
understanding of the imputed amortisation rates on the Group’s assets.

(e)  Of the £85m amortisation of customer relationships and other intangible assets, £78m has been included within “exceptional items and amortisation of intangible assets”. £74m of this 

balance arises from amortisation of intangible assets recognised upon the Booker acquisition. Refer to Note 4 and Note 31 for further details.

Cost
At 25 February 2017
Foreign currency translation
Additions
Acquired through business combination
Reclassification 
Disposals
At 24 February 2018
Accumulated amortisation and impairment losses
At 25 February 2017
Foreign currency translation
Charge for the year
Impairment losses
Reversal of impairment losses
Reclassification
Disposals
At 24 February 2018

(a)  Refer to previous table for footnote.

Goodwill 
£m

Software(a) 

£m

Intangible
assets
£m

2,426
28
–
4
–
–
2,458

634
28
–
–
–
–
–
662

2,971
21
180
2
10
(18)
3,166

2,092
17
208
28
–
47
(14)
2,378

363
2
15
2
13
(3)
392

317
1
11
–
(4)
(8)
(2)
315

Total
£m

5,760
51
195
8
23
(21)
6,016

 3,043
46
219
28
(4)
39
(16) 
3,355

Impairment of goodwill
The goodwill balances, discount rates and long-term growth rates for each group of cash-generating units are shown below: 

Balances £m

Pre-tax discount rates

Post-tax discount rates

Long-term growth rates

Tesco Bank
UK
Thailand
Malaysia
ROI

2019
802
3,834
193
77
3

4,909

2018
802
735
180
75
4

1,796

2019
10.4%
8.8%
9.6%
11.8%
8.5%

2018
10.6%
8.9%
9.3%
11.6%
8.3%

2019
7.8%
7.1%
7.7%
9.0%
7.4%

2018
8.0%
7.2%
7.5%
8.8%
7.3%

2019
2.0%
2.0%
1.9%
2.4%
1.9%

2018
2.5%
2.1%
2.2%
3.2%
1.8%

The key estimates for the value in use calculations are those regarding discount rates and expected changes to future cash flows.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

119

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 10 Goodwill and other intangible assets continued

Management estimates discount rates using pre-tax rates that reflect the current market assessment of the time value of money and the 
risks specific to the cash-generating units, including a Brexit risk adjustment in the UK & ROI segment. The pre-tax discount rates used to 
calculate value in use are derived from the Group’s post-tax weighted average cost of capital, as adjusted for the specific risks relating to 
each group of cash-generating units. 

Cash flow projections are based on the Group’s three-year internal forecasts, the results of which are reviewed by the Board. Estimates of 
selling prices and direct costs are based on past experience and expectations of future changes in the market. The forecasts are extrapolated 
to five years based on management’s expectations, and beyond five years based on estimated long-term average growth rates as shown 
above. These long-term growth rates for the Retail business are based on inflation forecasts by recognised bodies. The long-term growth rate 
for Tesco Bank is based on inflation and GDP growth forecasts by recognised bodies.

The Group has carried out a sensitivity analysis on the impairment tests of each group of cash-generating units to which goodwill has been 
allocated, using various reasonably possible scenarios based on recent market movements. Neither a one percentage point increase in 
discount rates nor a one percentage point decrease in year one sales growth would indicate impairment in any group of cash-generating units. 

Impairment of other intangible assets
A net impairment loss of £16m (£21m losses offset by £5m reversal) has been recognised against other intangible assets as part of the 
impairment review discussed in Note 11. Of this loss, £14m has been included within exceptional items, classified as ‘Net impairment reversal 
of non-current assets and onerous property provisions’ within cost of sales in Note 4.

Note 11 Property, plant and equipment

Cost
At 24 February 2018
Foreign currency translation
Additions(b)
Acquired through business combinations(c) 
Reclassification(d)
Classified as held for sale
Disposals
Fully depreciated assets(e)
At 23 February 2019
Accumulated depreciation and impairment losses
At 24 February 2018
Foreign currency translation
Charge for the year
Impairment losses
Reversal of impairment losses
Reclassification(d)
Classified as held for sale
Disposals
Fully depreciated assets(e)
At 23 February 2019

Net carrying value(f)
At 23 February 2019
At 24 February 2018

Construction in progress included above(g)
At 23 February 2019
At 24 February 2018

Land and 
buildings 
£m

23,453
50
518
258
926
(48)
(73)
(135)
24,949

7,116
9
500
80
(181)
790
(20)
(60)
(135)
8,099

16,850
16,337

37
68

Other(a) 
£m

Total 
£m

10,909
40
533
68
(787)
5
(450)
(3,255)
7,063

8,725
21
579
66
(38)
(787)
5
(426)
(3,255)
4,890

2,173
2,184

109
57

34,362
90
1,051
326
139
(43)
(523)
(3,390)
32,012

15,841
30
1,079
146
(219)
3
(15)
(486)
(3,390)
12,989

19,023
18,521

146
125

(a)  Other assets consist of fixtures and fittings with a net carrying value of £1,657m (2018: £1,752m), office equipment with a net carrying value of £292m (2018: £116m) and motor vehicles with 

(b) 

a net carrying value of £224m (2018: £316m).
Includes £1m (2018: £2m) in respect of interest capitalised, principally relating to land and building assets. The capitalisation rate used to determine the amount of finance costs capitalised 
during the financial year was 4.5% (2018: 4.5%). Interest capitalised is deducted in determining taxable profit in the financial year in which it is incurred. 

(c)  £326m relates to the acquisition of Booker. Refer to Note 31 for further details.
(d)  Reclassification includes £892m related to fully depreciated assets no longer in use that were reclassified within property, plant and equipment, and £105m reclassified between property, 

plant and equipment and other intangible assets, prior to removal from the fixed assets registers.

(e)  During the current financial year, the Group performed a comprehensive review of all fully depreciated assets held in the Group’s fixed assets registers, and removed £3,390m of cost and 

accumulated depreciation and impairment losses relating to those fully depreciated assets which are no longer in use by the Group. This change will provide users with a greater 
understanding of the imputed depreciation rates on the Group’s assets. 
Includes £803m (2018: £786m) of assets pledged as security for secured bonds and £489m (2018: £509m) of property held as security in favour of the Tesco PLC Pension Scheme. Refer to 
Notes 21 and 27.

(f) 

(g)  Construction in progress does not include land.

120

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Assets held under finance leases
Net carrying value includes assets held under finance leases, which are analysed below. These assets are pledged as security for the finance 
lease liabilities.

Net carrying value

Land and buildings
The net carrying value of land and buildings comprises:

Freehold assets(a)(b)
Long leasehold improvements – 50 years or more
Short leasehold improvements – less than 50 years(a)
Assets held under finance leases(b)
Net carrying value

2019

Land and 
buildings
£m
70

2018

Land and 
buildings 
£m
75

Other  
£m
34

2019  
£m
14,563
323
1,894
70
16,850

Other  
£m
32

2018  
£m
14,117
412
1,733
75
16,337

(a)  £413m of freehold assets previously classified as short leasehold in the prior financial year have now been reclassified.
(b)  Assets held under finance leases previously included within freehold land have now been disclosed separately.

Cost
At 25 February 2017
Foreign currency translation
Additions(b)
Reclassification
Classified as held for sale
Disposals
At 24 February 2018
Accumulated depreciation and impairment losses
At 25 February 2017
Foreign currency translation
Charge for the year
Impairment losses
Reversal of impairment losses
Reclassification
Classified as held for sale
Disposals
At 24 February 2018
Net carrying value

(a)-(b) Refer to previous page for footnotes.

Land and  
buildings 
£m

22,690
312
819
(83)
(146)
(139)
23,453

7,095
121
470
44
(268)
(147)
(92)
(107)
7,116
16,337

Other(a) 
£m

Total 
£m

10,681
116
481
(49)
(21)
(299)
10,909

8,168
97
605
44
(7)
100
(11)
(271)
8,725
2,184

33,371
428
1,300
(132)
(167)
(438)
34,362

15,263
218
1,075
88
(275)
(47)
(103)
(378)
15,841
18,521

Impairment of property, plant and equipment 
The key estimates for value in use calculations are discount rates and expected changes to future cash flows.

Management estimates discount rates using pre-tax rates that reflect the current market assessment of the time value of money and the 
risks specific to the cash-generating units, including a Brexit risk adjustment in the UK & ROI segment. The discount rates are derived from the 
Group’s post-tax weighted average cost of capital, as adjusted for the specific risks relating to each geographical region and range from 7% to 
12% (2018: 7% to 12%). On a post-tax basis, the discount rates range from 6% to 9% (2018: 5% to 9%). 

Cash flow projections are based on the Group’s three year internal forecasts, the results of which are reviewed by the Board. Estimates of 
selling prices and direct costs are based on past experience and expectations of future changes in the market. The forecasts are extrapolated 
to five years based on management’s expectations, and beyond five years based on long-term average growth rates, which are derived from 
inflation forecasts by recognised bodies. These long-term average growth rates range from 1% to 3% (2018: 1% to 4%).

Fair values are determined with regard to the market rent for the stores or for alternative uses with investment yields appropriate to reflect 
the physical characteristics of the property, location, infrastructure, redevelopment potential and other factors. In some cases, fair values 
include residual valuations where stores may be viable for redevelopment. The key inputs to the valuation are the potential market rents and 
yields, both of which are largely based on rentals and yields for similar properties in that location. Fair values for the Group’s properties were 
determined with the assistance of independent, professional valuers where appropriate.

The net carrying value of £19,023m (2018: £18,521m) on the previous page comprises £15,067m (2018: £14,056m) of unimpaired assets and 
£3,956m (2018: £4,465m) of impaired assets. Of the impaired assets, £1,871m (2018: £1,795m) carrying value was supported by value in use and 
£2,085m (2018: £2,670m) was supported by fair value. Due to the individual nature of each property, these fair values are classified as Level 3 
within the fair value hierarchy.

The total net impairment reversal of £73m (£219m reversal offset by £146m losses) largely reflects normal fluctuations expected from store 
level performance, property fair values and changes in discount rates. These losses and reversals have been largely presented net at a country 
level to reflect the underlying trends in the businesses. The impairment reversal of £219m (2018: £275m) relates to properties in the UK & ROI 
of £129m (2018: £154m), Central Europe of £86m (2018: £112m) and Asia of £4m (2018: £9m), while the impairment losses of £146m (2018: £88m) 
relate to properties in the UK & ROI of £46m (2018: £50m), Central Europe of £64m (2018: £6m) and Asia of £36m (2018: £32m).

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

121

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 11 Property, plant and equipment continued
Of the £73m net reversal (2018: £187m net reversal), a £68m reversal (2018: £183m reversal) within exceptional items related to trading stores 
has been classified as ‘Net impairment reversal of non-current assets and onerous property provisions’ within cost of sales. In addition,  
a £1m reversal (2018: £1m loss) within exceptional items related to closed stores has been classified as ‘Net impairment reversal of non-current 
assets and onerous property provisions’ within profits/(losses) arising on property-related items. In the prior financial year, a further £3m loss 
within exceptional items related to the unwind of the Group’s joint venture with British Land has been classified as ‘Property transactions’ 
within profits/(losses) arising on property-related items. The remaining £4m reversal (2018: £8m reversal) has not been included within 
exceptional items as it relates to the Group’s day-to-day management of the property portfolio. 

The Group has carried out a sensitivity analysis on the impairment tests for its trading stores portfolio using various reasonably possible 
scenarios based on recent market movements including discount rates, sales growth and property fair values:

 – An increase of one percentage point in the discount rates for each geographic region would increase impairment by £265m (2018: £231m). 

A decrease of one percentage point would decrease impairment by £227m (2018: £239m). 

 – An increase of one percentage point in year one sales growth for each geographic region would decrease impairment by £55m (2018: £40m). 

A decrease of one percentage point in year one sales growth would increase impairment by £64m (2018: £41m). 

 – An increase of five percentage points in property fair values for each geographic region would decrease impairment by £95m. A decrease of 

five percentage points in property fair values would increase impairment by £99m. 

Note 12 Investment property

Cost
At the beginning of the year
Foreign currency translation
Additions
Reclassification
Classified as held for sale
Disposals
At the end of the year
Accumulated depreciation and impairment losses
At the beginning of the year
Foreign currency translation
Charge for the year
Impairment losses for the year
Reversal of impairment losses for the year
Reclassification
Classified as held for sale
Disposals
At the end of the year
Net carrying value at the end of the year

2019 
£m

208
(3)
–
(1)
–
(86)
118

108
(2)
1
1
(2)
(2)
–
(22)
82
36

2018 
£m

171
5
1
123
(58)
(34)
208

107
4
1
1
(5)
 23
(3)
(20)
108
100

The estimated fair value of the Group’s investment property is £0.2bn (2018: £0.2bn). This fair value has been determined by applying an 
appropriate rental yield to the rentals earned by the investment property. A valuation has not been performed by an independent valuer. 

Note 13 Group entities
The Group consists of the ultimate Parent Company, Tesco PLC, and a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates held directly 
or indirectly by Tesco PLC. See pages 169 to 172 for a complete list of Group entities.

Subsidiaries
The accounting year ends of the subsidiaries consolidated in these financial statements are on or around 23 February 2019. 

Consolidated structured entities
The Group has a number of securitisation structured entities established in connection with Tesco Bank’s credit card securitisation 
transactions. Although none of the equity of these entities is owned by the Group, the Group has rights to variable returns from its 
involvement with these entities and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over them under contractual agreements. 
As such these entities are effectively controlled by the Group, and are therefore accounted for as subsidiaries of the Group.

These entities have financial year ends of 31 December. The management accounts of these entities are used to consolidate the results 
to 23 February 2019 within these financial statements.

Unconsolidated structured entities
In prior years, the Group sponsored a number of structured entities. The Group led the formation of the entities and its name appears in the 
name of the entities and/or on the debt issued by the entities. The structured entities were set up to finance property purchases by some of 
the UK property joint ventures in which the Group typically holds a 50% equity interest. The structured entities obtain debt financing from 
third party investors and lend the funds to these joint ventures, who use the funds to purchase the properties.

The liabilities of the UK property joint ventures include the loans due to these structured entities. The Group’s exposure to the 
structured entities is limited to the extent of the Group’s interests in the joint ventures. The liabilities of the structured entities are  
non-recourse to the Group.

The Group concluded that it does not control, and therefore should not consolidate, these structured entities since it does not have power 
over the relevant activities of the structured entities, or exposure to variable returns from these entities.

122

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Interests in joint ventures and associates
Principal joint ventures and associates
The Group’s principal joint ventures and associates are:

Gain Land Limited

Included in ‘UK property joint ventures’:
The Tesco Coral Limited Partnership
The Tesco Blue Limited Partnership
The Tesco Atrato Limited Partnership
The Tesco Passaic Limited Partnership
The Tesco Navona Limited Partnership
The Tesco Sarum Limited Partnership
The Tesco Dorney Limited Partnership
The Tesco Property (No. 2) Limited Partnership
The Tesco Arena Unit Trust

Included in ‘Other joint ventures and associates’:
Tesco Mobile Limited
Tesco Underwriting Limited
Trent Hypermarket Limited
Tesco Lotus Retail Growth Freehold  
and Leasehold Property Fund

Nature of 
relationship
Associate

Business activity
Retail

Share of issued 
share capital, loan 
capital and debt 
securities
20%

Country of 
incorporation
British Virgin 
Islands

Principal area  
of operation
People’s Republic of 
China/Hong Kong

Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture

Property investment
Property investment
Property investment
Property investment
Property investment
Property investment
Property investment
Property investment
Property investment

Joint venture
Joint venture
Joint venture
Associate

Telecommunications
Insurance
Retail
Property investment

50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%

50%
49.9%
50%
25%

England
England
England
England
England
England
England
Jersey
Jersey

England
England
India
Thailand

United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom

United Kingdom
United Kingdom
India
Thailand

The accounting period end dates of the joint ventures and associates consolidated in these financial statements range from 31 December 2018 
to 28 February 2019. The accounting period end dates of joint ventures differ from those of the Group for commercial reasons and depend 
upon the requirements of the joint venture partner as well as those of the Group. The accounting period end dates of the associates are 
different from those of the Group as they depend upon the requirements of the parent companies of those entities.

There are no significant restrictions on the ability of joint ventures and associates to transfer funds to the parents, other than those imposed 
by the Companies Act 2006 or equivalent local regulations, and for Tesco Underwriting Limited, regulatory capital requirements.

Management has applied judgement in determining that Gain Land Limited (Gain Land) is an associate of the Group. The Group has significant 
influence by virtue of holding 20% equity interest which presumes significant influence per IAS 28, together with having a contractual right to 
appoint two out of 10 Directors, while taking into account that the remaining 80% interest is held by one other party. 

On 13 September 2018, the Group exercised its option to buy back the 50% equity holding in the Tesco Atrato Limited Partnership held by the 
other joint venture partner. Refer to Note 34.

The UK property joint ventures involve the Group partnering with third parties in carrying out some property investments in order to enhance 
returns from property and access funding, while reducing risks associated with sole ownership. These property investments generally cover 
shopping centres and standalone stores. The Group enters into operating leases for some or all of the properties held in the joint ventures. 
These leases provide the Group with some rights over alterations and adjacent land developments. Some leases also provide the Group with 
options to purchase the other joint venturers’ equity stakes at a future point in time. In some cases the Group has the ability to substitute 
properties in the joint ventures with alternative properties of similar value, subject to strict eligibility criteria. In other cases, the Group 
carries out property management activities for third party rentals of shopping centre units.

The property investment activities are carried out in separate entities, usually partnerships or limited liability companies. The Group has 
assessed its ability to direct the relevant activities of these entities and any impact on Group returns and concluded that the entities qualify 
as joint ventures since decisions regarding them require the unanimous consent of both equity holders. This assessment included not only 
rights within the joint venture agreements, but also any rights within other contractual arrangements between the Group and the entities.

The Group made a number of judgements in arriving at this determination, the key ones being: 

 – since the provisions of the joint venture agreements require the relevant decisions impacting investor returns to be either unanimously 

agreed by both joint venturers at the same time, or in some cases to be agreed sequentially by each venturer at different stages, there is 
joint decision making within the joint venture;

 – since the Group’s leases are priced at fair value, and any rights embedded in the leases are consistent with market practice, they do not 

provide the Group with additional control over the joint ventures or infer an obligation by the Group to fund the settlement of liabilities of 
the joint ventures;

 – any options to purchase the other joint venturers’ equity stakes are priced at market value, and only exercisable at future dates, hence 

they do not provide control to the Group at the current time;

 – where the Group has a right to substitute properties in the joint ventures, the rights are strictly limited and are at fair value, hence do not 

provide control to the Group; and

 – where the Group carries out property management activities for third party rentals in shopping centres, these additional activities 

are controlled through joint venture agreements or lease agreements, and do not provide the Group with additional powers over the 
joint venture.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

123

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 13 Group entities continued
Summarised financial information for joint ventures and associates 
The summarised financial information below reflects the amounts presented in the financial statements of the relevant joint ventures and 
associates, and not the Group’s share of those amounts. These amounts have been adjusted to conform to the Group’s accounting policies 
where required. The summarised financial information for UK property joint ventures has been aggregated in order to provide useful 
information to users without excessive detail since these entities have similar characteristics and risk profiles largely based on their nature 
of activities and geographic market.

UK property joint ventures

Gain Land Limited

Summarised balance sheet
Non-current assets(a)
Current assets (excluding cash and cash equivalents) 
Cash and cash equivalents
Current liabilities(b)
Non-current liabilities(b)
Net assets/(liabilities)

Summarised income statement
Revenue
Profit/(loss) after tax

Reconciliation to carrying amounts:
Opening balance
Additions/(disposals)
Foreign currency translation
Share of profits/(losses)(c)
Dividends received from joint ventures and associates
Deferred profits offset against carrying amounts(d)
Closing balance

Group’s share in ownership

Group’s share of net assets/(liabilities)
Goodwill
Deferred property profits offset against carrying amounts(d)
Cumulative unrecognised losses(c)
Cumulative unrecognised hedge reserves(c)
Carrying amount

2019 
£m

3,786
98
40
(359)
(4,529)
(964)

289
–

–
–
–
15
(15)
–
–

50%

(482)
–
(61)
183
360
–

2018 
£m

3,851
92
37
(304)
(4,561)
(885)

280
–

–
–
–
12
(12)
–
–

50%

(443)
–
(61)
168
336
–

12 months 
to Dec 2018
£m

12 months to 
Dec 2017 
£m

3,864
2,291
649
(5,943)
(519)
342

9,038
(48)

366
–
9
(10)
–
–
365

20%

68
297
–
–
–
365

3,924
1,801
414
(5,318)
(409)
412

9,097
(230)

433
–
(21)
(46)
–
–
366

20%

82
284
–
–
–
366

(a)  The non-current asset balances of UK property joint ventures are reflected at historical depreciated cost to conform to the Group’s accounting policies. The aggregate fair values in 

the financial statements of the UK property joint ventures are £5,503m (2018: £4,983m).

(b)  The current and non-current liabilities of UK property joint ventures largely comprise loan balances of £3,809m (2018: £3,892m) and derivative swap balances of £720m (2018: £672m) 

entered into to hedge the cash flow variability exposures of the joint ventures. 

(c)  The share of profit for the year for UK property joint ventures related to £15m dividends received from joint ventures with £nil carrying amounts. £2m of losses and £24m of increases 

in the fair values of derivatives arising from these entities have been included in cumulative unrecognised losses and cumulative unrecognised hedge reserves respectively.

(d)  Deferred profits that arose from the transfer of properties into the UK property joint ventures have been offset against the carrying amounts of the related joint ventures. £2m relating 

to BLT Properties Limited has been released during the prior financial year as a result of the joint venture being wound up on 6 April 2017.

At 23 February 2019, the Group has £105m (2018: £104m) loans to UK property joint ventures.

Other joint ventures and associates
The Group also has interests in a number of individually immaterial joint ventures and associates excluding UK property joint ventures 
and Gain Land. 

Aggregate carrying amount of individually immaterial joint ventures and associates
Group’s share of profits/(losses) for the year

Joint ventures

Associates

2019 
£m
275
15

2018 
£m
262
17

2019 
£m
64
15

2018 
£m
61
11

Impairment
Management has performed impairment tests and sensitivity analysis on its investments in Gain Land, Trent Hypermarket Limited and Tesco 
Underwriting Limited. The carrying values of Trent Hypermarket Limited of £102m (2018: £98m) and Tesco Underwriting Limited of £86m 
(2018: £90m) are included within ‘Other joint ventures and associates’ as discussed above.

The recoverable values of these investments were estimated taking into account forecast cash flows, equity valuations of comparable entities 
and/or recent transactions for comparable businesses. No impairment was recognised in the year for these investments. Future changes in 
estimated cash flows, discount rates, competitive landscape, retail market conditions and other factors may result in impairment losses or 
reversals of impairment in future periods.

124

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 14 Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income comprise investments in debt and equity instruments of other entities.

Investments in debt instruments
Investments in equity instruments
Total financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Of which:
Current
Non-current

Note 15 Inventories

Goods held for resale
Development properties

Goods held for resale are net of commercial income. Refer to Note 20.

Note 16 Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables
Prepayments
Accrued income(a)
Other receivables
Amounts owed by joint ventures and associates (Note 29)(b)
Total trade and other receivables
Of which:
Current
Non-current

2019 
£m
1,040
6
1,046

67
979
1,046

2019 
£m
2,611
6
2,617

2019 
£m
598
297
297
473
170
1,835

1,640
195
1,835

2018 
£m
924
4
928

68
860
928

2018 
£m
(restated)
2,260
4
2,264

2018 
£m
(restated)
488
317
261
459
165
1,690

1,504
186
1,690

(a)  Accrued income includes contract assets of £28m (2018: £15m) primarily related to insurance renewal income.
(b) 

Impairment on amounts owed by joint ventures and associates is not material.

Trade and other receivables include commercial income. Refer to Note 20. Trade and other receivables are generally non-interest-bearing. 
Credit terms vary by country and the nature of the debt, ranging from 7 to 60 days.

The table below presents the balance and movements in the provision for impairment of trade and other receivables.

At the beginning of the year
IFRS 9 adjustment
Increase in allowance, net of recoveries, charged to the Group income statement
Amounts written off
At the end of the year

For the comparative period, analysis of the ageing of past due trade and other receivables under IAS 39 is set out below:

Up to three months past due
Three to six months past due
Over six months past due

Past due but not impaired 
2018 
£m
83
9
3
95

2019 
£m
(46)
–
(21)
8
(59)

2018 
£m 
(restated)
(55)
–
(4)
13
(46)

Past due and impaired 
2018 
£m
–
2
11
13

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

125

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 17 Loans and advances to customers and banks
Tesco Bank has loans and advances to customers and banks, as follows:

Current
Non-current

The maturity of these loans and advances is as follows:

Repayable on demand or at short notice
Within three months
Greater than three months but less than one year
Greater than one year but less than five years
After five years

Provision for impairment of loans and advances to customers and banks

2019 
£m
4,882
7,868
12,750

2019 
£m
4
4,858
323
3,057
4,993
13,235
(485)
12,750

2018 
£m
4,637
6,885
11,522

2018 
£m
4
4,604
147
2,633
4,372
11,760
(238)
11,522

At 28 February 2019, £3.2bn (2018: £3.5bn) of the credit card portfolio had its beneficial interest assigned to a securitisation structured entity, 
Delamare Cards Receivables Trustee Limited, for use as collateral in securitisation transactions. The total encumbered portion of this 
portfolio is £2.3bn (2018: £1.6bn).

At 28 February 2019, Delamare Cards MTN Issuer plc had £2.4bn (2018: £2.4bn) notes in issue in relation to securitisation transactions, of which 
£0.9bn (2018: £1.0bn) was externally issued. The Group owned £1.1bn (2018: £1.1bn) class A Credit Card backed notes and £0.3bn (2018: £0.3bn) 
class D Credit Card backed notes.

Of the total £1.1bn (2018: £1.1bn) class A notes, £0.5bn (2018: £0.3bn) is held in a distinct pool for the purposes of collateralising the Bank of 
England’s Term Funding Scheme drawings. All other prepositioned assets with the Bank of England are held within their single collateral pool.

Provision for impairment of loans and advances

At the beginning of the year
IFRS 9 adjustment
Increase in allowance, net of recoveries, charged to the Group income statement
Amounts written off
Unwinding of discount
At the end of the year

2019 
£m
(238)
(228)
(163)
139
5
(485)

2018 
£m
(194)
–
(134)
87
3
(238)

126

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 18 Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments
Cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank and in hand
Short-term deposits

Short-term investments

Money market funds

2019 
£m
2,683
233
2,916

2019 
£m
390

2018 
£m
3,580
479
4,059

2018 
£m
1,029

Cash and cash equivalents includes £62m of restricted amounts mainly relating to the Group’s pension schemes and employee benefit trusts. 
At the prior financial year end, £777m was set aside for completion of the merger with Booker Group plc, with £766m being paid on 
completion. Refer to Note 31 for further details on the Booker merger.

Note 19 Trade and other payables

Trade payables 
Other taxation and social security
Other payables
Amounts payable to joint ventures and associates (Note 29) 
Accruals 
Contract liabilities
Total trade and other payables
Of which: 
Current
Non-current

2019 
£m
5,750
521
1,794
20
1,230
423
9,738

9,354
384
9,738

2018 
£m 
(restated)
5,416
334
1,947
20
1,147
494
9,358

8,994
364
9,358

Trade and other payables are net of commercial income. Refer to Note 20. 

Contract liabilities represent consideration received for performance obligations not yet satisfied, predominantly in relation to Clubcard 
points. Substantially all of the revenue deferred at the current financial year end will be recognised in the following financial year.

Note 20 Commercial income
Below are the commercial income balances included within inventories and trade and other receivables, or netted against trade and other payables. 
Amounts received in advance of income being earned are included in accruals.

Current assets
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Trade/other receivables
Accrued income

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables

Trade payables*
Accruals

2019 
£m

(69)

183
155

327
(4)

2018 
£m

(69)

169
186

199
(7) 

*  The commercial income balance netted against trade payables increased from £199m to £327m. This increase primarily relates to the delayed settlement of commercial income 
receivables, due to the decision to delay the implementation of a new general ledger system in the UK & ROI, and inclusion of commercial income balances related to Booker. 

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

127

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 21 Borrowings
Borrowings are classified as current and non-current based on their scheduled redemption date, and not their maturity date. Repayments of 
principal amounts are classified as current if the repayment is scheduled to be made within one year of the reporting date. 

Current

Bank loans and overdrafts
Loans from joint ventures (Note 29)
5.2% Tesco Bank Retail Bond
3.375% MTN
1.375% MTN(a)
5.5% MTN(a)
1% RPI Tesco Bank Retail Bond(b)
LIBOR + 0.65% Tesco Bank Bond(c)
LIBOR + 0.65% Tesco Bank Bond(d)
5.5457% Secured Bond(e)(f)
Finance leases (Note 34)

Non-current

1.375% MTN(a)
5.5% MTN(a)
1% RPI Tesco Bank Retail Bond(b)
2.125% MTN
1m USD LIBOR + 0.70% Tesco Bank Bond
5% Tesco Bank Retail Bond
LIBOR + 0.65% Tesco Bank Bond(d)
6.125% MTN(a)
LIBOR + 0.53% Tesco Bank Bond(g)
5% MTN(a)
1.375% MTN
2.5% MTN
3.322% LPI MTN(h)
5.5457% Secured Bond(e)(f)
6.067% Secured Bond(e)
LIBOR +1.2% Secured Bond(e)
6% MTN(a)
5.5% MTN(a)
1.982% RPI MTN(i)
6.15% USD Bond(a)
4.875% MTN(a)
5.125% MTN
5.2% MTN(a)
Finance leases (Note 34)

Par value
–
–
£125m
 €750m
€726m
£97m
£72m
£300m
£350m
£332m

Par value
€726m
£97m
£72m
€500m
$350m
£200m
£350m
£531m
£300m
£171m
€750m
€750m
£346m
£332m
£200m
£50m
£98m
£150m
£286m
$525m
£32m
€356m
£73m

Maturity
–
–
Aug 2018
Nov 2018
Jul 2019
Dec 2019
Dec 2019
Apr 2020
May 2021
Feb 2029

Maturity
Jul 2019
Dec 2019
Dec 2019
Nov 2020
Nov 2020
Nov 2020
May 2021
Feb 2022
Oct 2022
Mar 2023
Oct 2023
Jul 2024
Nov 2025
Feb 2029
Feb 2029
Feb 2029
Dec 2029
Jan 2033
Mar 2036
Nov 2037
Mar 2042
Apr 2047
Mar 2057

2019 
£m
387
–
–
–
636
98
72
–
350
20
36
1,599

2019 
£m
–
–
–
436
262
203
–
561
299
183
658
658
349
303
191
34
119
186
288
428
32
319
71
93
5,673

2018 
£m
351
6
126
667
–
–
–
300
–
17
12
1,479

2018 
£m
826
183
70
441
–
204
350
952
298
254
–
666
338
322
190
33
198
221
279
616
103
323
165
110
7,142

(a)  During the year, the Group undertook a tender for outstanding bonds and as a result the following notional amounts were repaid early, 1.375% MTN Jul 2019 €205m, 5.5% MTN Dec 2019 
£84m, 6.125% MTN Feb 2022 £369m, 5% MTN Mar 2023 £67m, 6% MTN Dec 2029 £61m, 5.5% MTN Jan 2033 £26m, 6.15% USD Bond Nov 2037 $325m, 4.875% MTN Mar 2042 £70m and 
5.2% MTN Mar 2057 £95m.

(b)  The 1% RPI Tesco Bank Retail Bond is redeemable at par, indexed for increases in the RPI over the life of the bond.
(c)  This bond was issued on 13 May 2015 and was redeemed on its scheduled redemption date in April 2018. 
(d)  This bond was issued on 6 June 2014. The scheduled redemption date of this bond is May 2019.
(e)  The bonds are secured by a charge over the property, plant and equipment held within the Tesco Property Limited Partnership, a 100% owned subsidiary of Tesco PLC. The carrying 

amounts of assets pledged as security for secured bonds is £803m (2018: £786m). 

(f)  This is an amortising bond which matures in February 2029. £20m (2018: £17m) is the principal repayment due within the next 12 months. The remainder is payable in quarterly instalments 

until maturity in February 2029.

(g)  This bond was issued on 7 November 2017. The scheduled redemption date of this bond is October 2020. 
(h)  The 3.322% Limited Price Inflation (LPI) MTN is redeemable at par, indexed for increases in the RPI over the life of the MTN. The maximum indexation of the principal in any one year is 5%, 

with a minimum of 0%.

(i)  The 1.982% RPI MTN is redeemable at par, indexed for increases in the RPI over the life of the MTN.

Borrowing facilities
The Group has the following undrawn committed facilities available at 23 February 2019, in respect of which all conditions precedent had been 
met as at that date:

Expiring in less than one year 
Expiring between one and two years
Expiring in more than two years

2019 
£m
38
–
3,000
3,038

2018 
£m
38
–
4,232
4,270

The undrawn committed facilities include £0.4bn (2018: £1.6bn) of bilateral facilities and a £2.6bn (2018: £2.6bn) syndicated revolving credit 
facility. All facilities incur commitment fees at market rates and would provide funding at floating rates.

128

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 22 Financial instruments
The carrying value and fair value of the following financial assets and liabilities are set out below:

Assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Loans and advances to customers and banks – Tesco Bank
Short-term investments
Joint ventures and associates loan receivables*
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings:

Amortised cost
Bonds in fair value hedge relationships

Long-term borrowings:

Amortised cost
Bonds in fair value hedge relationships

Finance leases
Customer deposits – Tesco Bank
Deposits from banks – Tesco Bank

2019

2018 (restated)

Carrying value
£m

2,916
12,750
390
133

(1,491)
(72)

(3,954)
(1,626)
(129)
(10,465)
(1,663)

Fair 
value
£m

2,916
12,931
390
133

(1,499)
(70)

(4,369)
(1,622)
(139)
(10,427)
(1,663)

Carrying value
£m

4,059
11,522
1,029
138

(1,467)
–

(6,137)
(895)
(122)
(9,245)
(1,539)

Fair 
value
£m

4,059
11,659
1,029
139

(1,240)
–

(6,210)
(818)
(132)
(9,224)
(1,539)

*  Joint ventures and associates loan receivables carrying amounts of £133m (2018: £138m) are presented in the Group balance sheet net of deferred profits of £54m (2018: £54m) historically 

arising from the sale of property assets to joint ventures.

The above table excludes trade and other receivables/payables, derivative financial instruments and financial assets at fair value through 
other comprehensive income where the carrying values are either fair value or approximate fair value. 

The fair values of financial instruments and derivatives have been determined by reference to prices available from the markets on which the 
instruments are traded, where they are available. Where market prices are not available, the fair value has been calculated by discounting 
expected future cash flows at prevailing interest rates. 

The expected maturity of financial assets and liabilities is not considered to be materially different to their current and non-current 
classification.

Financial assets and liabilities by category
The accounting classifications of each class of financial assets and liabilities at 23 February 2019 and 24 February 2018 are as follows:

At 23 February 2019
Cash and cash equivalents
Loans and advances to customers and banks – Tesco Bank
Short-term investments
Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Joint ventures and associates loan receivables
Customer deposits – Tesco Bank
Deposits from banks – Tesco Bank
Short-term borrowings
Long-term borrowings
Finance leases
Derivative financial instruments:

Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Forward contracts

Financial assets  
at fair value 
through other 
comprehensive 
income
£m
–
–
–
1,046
–
–
–
–
–
–

Financial assets/ 
liabilities at 
amortised cost
£m
2,885
12,750
390
–
133
(10,465)
(1,663)
(1,563)
(5,580)
(129)

–
–
–
–
1,046

–
–
–
–
(3,242)

Fair value  
through  
profit or 
loss
£m
31
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

(29)
325
292
3
622

Total
£m
2,916
12,750
390
1,046
133
(10,465)
(1,663)
(1,563)
(5,580)
(129)

(29)
325
292
3
(1,574)

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

129

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 22 Financial instruments continued

At 24 February 2018
Cash and cash equivalents
Loans and advances to customers and banks – Tesco Bank
Short-term investments
Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Joint ventures and associates loan receivables
Customer deposits – Tesco Bank
Deposits from banks – Tesco Bank
Short-term borrowings
Long-term borrowings
Finance leases
Derivative financial instruments:

Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Forward contracts

Available- 
for-sale
£m
–
–
–
928
–
–
–
–
–
–

Financial assets/ 
liabilities at 
amortised cost
£m
4,059
11,522
1,029
–
138
(9,245)
(1,539)
(1,467)
(7,032)
(122)

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

928

(2,657)

Fair value  
through  
profit or 
loss
£m
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

(58)
297
281
(39)

481

Total
£m
4,059
11,522
1,029
928
138
(9,245)
(1,539)
(1,467)
(7,032)
(122)

(58)
297
281
(39)

(1,248)

The above tables exclude trade and other receivables/payables that are classified under loans and receivables/other financial liabilities.

Fair value measurement
The following table presents the Group’s financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value at 23 February 2019 and 24 February 
2018, by level of fair value hierarchy:

 – quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1);

 – inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (that is, as prices) or 

indirectly (that is, derived from prices) (Level 2); and

 – inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (that is, unobservable inputs) (Level 3).

At 23 February 2019
Assets
Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Derivative financial instruments:

Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Forward contracts

Total assets
Liabilities
Derivative financial instruments:

Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Forward contracts

Total liabilities
Net assets/(liabilities)

At 24 February 2018
Assets
Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Derivative financial instruments:

Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Forward contracts

Total assets
Liabilities
Derivative financial instruments:

Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Forward contracts

Total liabilities
Net assets/(liabilities)

130

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

1,040

1,230

Level 1 
£m

1,040

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
1,040

Level 1 
£m

923

–
–
–
–
923

–
–
–
–
–
923

Level 2 
£m

Level 3 
£m

–

38
342
811
39

(67)
(17)
(519)
(29)
(632)
598

6

–
–
–
–

6

–
–
–
(7)
(7)
(1)

Level 2 
£m

Level 3 
£m

–

47
345
724
28
1,144

(105)
(48)
(443)
(67)
(663)
481

5

–
–
–
–
5

–
–
–
–
–
5

Total 
£m

1,046

38
342
811
39

2,276

(67)
(17)
(519)
(36)
(639)
1,637

Total 
£m

928

47
345
724
28
2,072

(105)
(48)
(443)
(67)
(663)
1,409

The following table presents the changes in Level 3 instruments for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 and 52 weeks ended 24 February 2018: 

At the beginning of the year

Gains/(losses) recognised in the Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss)

Addition of financial instrument at fair value through profit and loss
Disposal of financial asset at fair value through other comprehensive income
Addition of financial asset at fair value through other comprehensive income
At the end of the year

2019 
£m
5

1

(7)
–
–
(1)

2018 
£m
130

68

–
(196)
3
5

During the financial year, there were £nil transfers (2018: £nil) between Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurements, and £nil transfers into and 
out of Level 3 fair value measurements (2018: £nil). 

Offsetting of financial assets and liabilities
The following tables show those financial assets and liabilities subject to offsetting, enforceable master netting arrangements and 
similar agreements.

At 23 February 2019
Financial assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Derivative financial instruments
Total trade and other receivables(a)
Total assets
Financial liabilities
Bank loans and overdrafts
Repurchases, securities lending and similar agreements(b)
Derivative financial instruments
Total trade and other payables(c)
Total liabilities

At 24 February 2018
Financial assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Derivative financial instruments
Total trade and other receivables(a)
Total assets
Financial liabilities
Bank loans and overdrafts
Repurchases, securities lending and similar agreements(b)
Derivative financial instruments
Total trade and other payables(c)
Total liabilities

Gross amounts of 
recognised 
financial assets/ 
(liabilities) 
£m

Gross amounts of 
financial assets/ 
(liabilities) offset 
in the Group 
balance sheet
£m

Net amounts
presented  
in the Group 
balance sheet 
£m

Related amounts not offset  
in the Group balance sheet

Financial 
instruments 
£m

Collateral 
£m

4,227
1,230
2,105
7,562

(1,698)
(324)
(639)
(10,008)
(12,669)

(1,311)
–
(270)
(1,581)

1,311
–
–
270
1,581

2,916
1,230
1,835
5,981

(387)
(324)
(639)
(9,738)
(11,088)

–
(223)
–
(223)

–
–
223
–
223

–
(12)
–
(12)

–
3,006
33
–
3,039

Gross amounts of 
recognised 
financial assets/ 
(liabilities) 
£m

Gross amounts of 
financial assets/ 
(liabilities) offset 
in the Group 
balance sheet
£m

Net amounts
presented  
in the Group 
balance sheet 
£m

Related amounts not offset  
in the Group balance sheet

Financial 
instruments 
£m

Collateral 
£m

4,187
1,144
1,887
7,218

(479)
(200)
(663)
(9,579)
(10,921)

(128)
–
(219)
(347)

128
–
–
219
347

4,059
1,144
1,668
6,871

(351)
(200)
(663)
(9,360)
(10,574)

–
(217)
–
(217)

–
380
217
–
597

–
(18)
–
(18)

–
–
55
–
55

Net 
amount 
£m

2,916
995
1,835
5,746

(387)
2,682
(383)
(9,738)
(7,826)

Net 
amount 
£m

4,059
909
1,668
6,636

(351)
180
(391)
(9,360)
(9,922)

(a)  Total trade and other receivables includes £297m (2018: £317m) of prepayments.
(b)  Repurchases, securities lending and similar agreements are included within the deposits from banks balance of £1,663m (2018: £1,539m) in the Group balance sheet. Refer to Note 24. 
(c)  Total trade and other payables includes £423m (2018: £494m) of contract liabilities.

For the financial assets and liabilities subject to enforceable master netting arrangements above, each agreement between the Group and the 
counterparty allows for net settlement of the relevant financial assets and liabilities when both elect to settle on a net basis. In the absence of 
such an election, financial assets and liabilities will be settled on a gross basis. However, each party to the master netting agreement or similar 
agreement will have the option to settle all such amounts on a net basis in the event of default of the other party.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

131

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 23 Financial risk management
The main financial risks faced by the Group relate to fluctuations in interest and foreign exchange rates, the risk of default by counterparties 
to financial transactions and the availability of funds to meet business needs. The management of these risks is set out below.

Financial risk management is carried out by a central treasury department under policies approved and delegated by the Board of Directors. 
The Board provides written principles for risk management.

Derivatives are used to hedge exposure to market risks and those that are held as hedging instruments are formally designated as hedges as 
defined in IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’. 

The fair values of derivative financial instruments have been disclosed in the Group balance sheet as follows:

Current
Non-current

2019

Asset 
£m
52
1,178
1,230

Liability 
£m
(250)
(389)
(639)

2018

Asset 
£m
27
1,117
1,144

Liability 
£m
(69)
(594)
(663)

The Group’s hedging policies are further described below. The main sources of hedge ineffectiveness are the effect of the counterparties’ 
and the Group’s own credit risk on the fair value of derivatives.

Fair value hedges
The Group maintains interest rate and cross-currency swap contracts as fair value hedges of the interest rate and currency risk on fixed rate 
debt issued by the Group. 

Cash flow hedges
The Group uses forward contracts to mainly hedge the foreign currency cost of future purchases of goods for resale, where those purchases 
are denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the purchasing company. These hedging instruments are primarily used 
to hedge purchases in Euros and US Dollars. The cash flows hedged are expected to occur within one year of the balance sheet date.

The Group also uses index-linked swaps to hedge cash flows on index-linked debt, interest rate swaps to hedge interest cash flows on debt 
and cross-currency swaps to hedge cash flows on fixed rate debt denominated in foreign currencies.

The Group also uses forward contracts to hedge the future purchase of diesel for own use.

Net investment hedges 
The Group uses currency denominated borrowings to hedge the exposure of a portion of its net investment in overseas operations  
(with non-Sterling functional currency) against changes in value due to changes in foreign exchange rates. 

The details of the hedging instruments and movements in cumulative losses on net investment hedges in other comprehensive income 
are set out below:

Losses on net investment hedges brought forward
Borrowings
Losses carried forward

Notional  
£m

1,281

Continued
hedges

Movement 
£m
(58)
16
(42)

Discontinued
hedges

Movement 
£m
(978)
2
(976)

During the year, €205m of the opening €931m 1.375% MTN July 2019 was repaid, leaving €726m designated as a net investment hedge at the 
year end. €623m of the €750m 3.375% MTN Nov 2018, which matured in the period, was designated as a net investment hedge. There were no 
reclassifications from foreign currency translation reserve and net investment hedge ineffectiveness was £nil during the year.

Financial instruments not qualifying for hedge accounting
The Group’s policy does not permit use of derivatives for trading purposes. However, some derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting, or 
are specifically not designated as a hedge where gains and losses on the hedging instrument and the hedged item naturally offset in the Group 
income statement. These instruments include index-linked swaps and forward foreign currency contracts. 

132

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

The fair value and notional amounts of derivatives analysed by hedge type are as follows:

Fair value hedges
Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Cash flow hedges
Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Forward contracts
Derivatives not in a formal hedge relationship
Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Forward contracts
Total

2019

2018

Asset

Liability

Asset

Liability

Fair value 
£m

Notional 
£m

Fair value 
£m

Notional 
£m

Fair value 
£m

Notional 
£m

Fair value 
£m

Notional 
£m

37
126

–
216
187
32

1
–
624
7
1,230

3,844
180

–
1,394
692
1,558

432
–
3,589
901
12,590

(49)
(8)

(17)
(9)
–
(18)

(1)
–
(519)
(18)
(639)

2,701
222

110
272
–
1,010

244
–
3,589
1,511
9,659

43
129

–
216
160
23

4
–
564
5
1,144

2,424
401

–
1,413
672
736

436
–
3,590
795
10,467

(87)
(48)

(17)
–
–
(53)

(1)
–
(443)
(14)
(663)

1,728
207

110
–
–
1,491

528
–
3,590
1,896
9,550

The following tables set out the maturity profile and average interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates of the hedging instruments 
used in the Group’s non-dynamic hedging strategies.

At 23 February 2019
Fair value hedges
Interest rate risk
Interest rate swaps – EUR
 – Notional amount (£m)
 – Average net interest rate (pay)/receive

Interest rate swaps – GBP
 – Notional amount (£m)
 – Average net interest rate (pay)/receive

Interest rate/Foreign currency risk
Cross currency swaps (GBP:USD)
 – Notional amount (£m)
 – Average exchange rate
 – Average net interest rate (pay)/receive

Cash flow hedges
Interest rate risk
Index linked swaps
 – Notional amount (£m)
 – Average net interest rate (pay)/receive

Interest rate swaps

 – Notional amount (£m)
 – Average net interest rate (pay)/receive

Interest rate/Foreign currency risk
Cross currency swaps (GBP:USD) floating
 – Notional amount (£m)
 – Average exchange rate
 – Average net interest rate (pay)/receive

Cross currency swaps (GBP:USD) fixed
 – Notional amount (£m)
 – Average exchange rate
 – Average net interest rate (pay)/receive

Up to one year

One to five years

More than five years

Maturity

1,383
(0.83%)

–
–

–
–
–

60
(1.99%)

60
1.57%

–
–
–

–
–
–

4,937
(0.86%)

65
3.49%

–
–
–

–
–

–
–

272
1.29
(1.62%)

434
1.19
(0.87%)

160
4.12%

–
–

402
1.50
3.04%

632
(4.22%)

50
(4.12%)

–
–
–

960
1.31
(1.09%)

At 23 February 2019, forward foreign currency transactions, designated as cash flow hedges, equivalent to £2.6bn were outstanding (2018: 
£2.2bn). These forward contracts are largely in relation to purchases of Euro (notional €2.0bn) and US Dollar (notional $1.1bn) with varying 
maturities up to January 2020. The notional and fair values of these contracts is shown in the table above.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

133

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 23 Financial risk management continued
The following table sets out the details of the hedged exposures covered by the Group’s fair value hedges.

At 23 February 2019
Fair value hedges
Interest rate risk

Carrying amount

Accumulated amounts of fair value 
adjustments on hedged item

Assets 
£m

Liabilities 
£m

Assets 
£m

Liabilities 
£m

Changes in fair value for 
calculating hedge 
ineffectiveness
£m

Residual hedge 
adjustments(a)

£m

Fixed rate loans and mortgages(b)
Fixed rate savings
Fixed rate investment securities(b)
Fixed rate bonds(c)

7,974
–
473
–

–
(3,691)
–
(1,778)

(3)
–
(5)
–

–
–
–
95

14
(1)
(3)
(57)

–
–
–
(59)

(a)  Accumulated amount of fair value hedge adjustments remaining in the Group balance sheet for any hedged items that have ceased to be adjusted for hedging gains and losses.
(b)  Classified as loans and advances to customers. 
(c)  Classified as borrowings.

The following tables set out information regarding the change in value of the hedged item used in calculating hedge ineffectiveness as well as 
the impacts on the cash flow hedge reserve and currency basis reserve.

At 23 February 2019

Interest rate risk

Index-linked bonds
Foreign currency risk
Trade payables

Interest rate/Foreign currency risk

MTNs

*  Excludes deferred tax.

Change in value of 
hedged item for 
calculating hedge 
ineffectiveness 
£m

Cash flow hedge reserve and 
currency basis reserve*

Continued 
hedges
£m

Discontinued 
hedges
£m

(1)

–

(9)

72

22

83

–

–

(46)

Hedging instrument

Index-linked swaps

Forward contracts

Cross-currency swaps

The following table sets out information regarding the effectiveness of hedging relationships designated by the Group, as well as the impacts 
on profit or loss and other comprehensive income:

At 23 February 2019
Cash flow hedges
Net investment hedges
Fair value hedges
Borrowings
Derivatives

Hedge ineffectiveness 
recognised in profit or loss
£m
–
–

Line item in Group  
income statement that  
includes hedge ineffectiveness
Net finance costs
Net finance costs

(22)
–

Net finance costs
Net finance costs

The following table presents a reconciliation by risk category of the cash flow hedge reserve and analysis of other comprehensive income in 
relation to hedge accounting:

At 24 February 2018 (as previously reported)
Adjustment on initial application of IFRS 9 (net of tax) (Note 36)
At 25 February 2018 (restated)
Interest rate risk
Index-linked swaps
 – Net fair value gains/(losses)
 – Amount reclassified to Group income statement
Interest rate swaps
 – Net fair value gains/(losses)
 – Amount reclassified to Group income statement
Interest rate/Foreign currency risk
Cross currency swaps
 – Net fair value gains/(losses)
 – Amount reclassified to Group income statement
Foreign currency risk
Forward contracts
 – Net fair value gains/(losses)
 – Amount reclassified to Inventory
Tax
At 23 February 2019

134

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Cash flow  
hedge reserve 
£m
40
(1)
39

Currency  
basis reserve
£m
–
1
1

30
(20)

(1)
–

15
8

92
(45)
–
118

–
–

–
–

(6)
–

–
–
–
(5)

Line item

Net finance costs

Net finance costs

Net finance costs

Inventory

Interest rate risk
Debt issued at variable rates, as well as cash deposits and short-term investments, expose the Group to cash flow interest rate risk. 
Debt issued at fixed rates exposes the Group to fair value risk.

The Group’s policy is to target fixing a minimum of 50% of interest costs for senior unsecured debt of the Group excluding Tesco Bank. 
At 23 February 2019, the percentage of interest-bearing debt at fixed rates was 78% (2018: 90%). The weighted average rate of interest 
paid on senior unsecured debt this financial year, excluding joint ventures and associates, was 3.76% (2018: 4.26%). 

Forward rate agreements, interest rate swaps, caps and floors may be used to achieve the desired mix of fixed and floating rate debt.

The Group has RPI-linked debt where the principal is indexed to increases in the RPI. RPI debt is treated as floating rate debt. The Group also 
has LPI-linked debt, where the principal is indexed to RPI, with an annual maximum increase of 5% and a minimum of 0%. LPI debt is treated 
as fixed rate debt. RPI-linked debt and LPI-linked debt are hedged for the effects of inflation until maturity.

For interest rate risk relating to Tesco Bank, refer to the separate section on Tesco Bank financial risk factors on page 137. 

During 2019 and 2018, net debt was managed using derivative instruments to hedge interest rate risk.

2019

2018

Cash and cash equivalents
Loans and advances to customers – Tesco Bank
Short-term investments
Financial assets at fair value through other 
comprehensive income
Joint ventures and associates loan receivables
Finance leases
Bank and other borrowings
Customer deposits – Tesco Bank
Deposits from banks – Tesco Bank
Derivative effect:

Interest rate swaps
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps

Total

Fixed 
£m
–
8,328
–

475
76
(129)
(5,810)
(3,714)
(1,663)

(5,899)
402
(346)
(8,280)

Floating 
£m
2,916
4,422
390

571
57
–
(1,333)
(6,751)
–

5,899
(402)
346
6,115

Total 
£m
2,916
12,750
390

1,046
133
(129)
(7,143)
(10,465)
(1,663)

–
–
–
(2,165)

Fixed 
£m
–
6,929
–

803
76
(122)
(6,836)
(3,447)
(1,539)

(5,096)
608
(337)
(8,961)

Floating 
£m
4,059
4,593
1,029

125
62
–
(1,663)
(5,798)
–

5,096
(608)
337
7,232

Total 
£m
4,059
11,522
1,029

928
138
(122)
(8,499)
(9,245)
(1,539)

–
–
–
(1,729)

Credit risk
Credit risk arises from cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables, customer deposits, financial instruments and deposits from 
banks and financial institutions.

The Group holds positions with an approved list of investment-grade rated counterparties and monitors the exposure, credit rating, outlook 
and credit default swap levels of these counterparties on a regular basis. The net counterparty exposure under derivative contracts is £1.0bn 
(2018: £0.9bn). The Group considers its maximum credit risk to be £19.7bn (2018: £19.6bn) largely based on the Group’s total financial assets.

For credit risk relating to Tesco Bank, refer to the separate section on Tesco Bank financial risk factors on page 138.

Liquidity risk
The Group finances its operations by a combination of retained profits, disposals of assets, debt capital market issues, commercial paper, 
bank borrowings and leases. The policy is to maintain a prudent level of cash together with sufficient committed bank facilities to meet 
liquidity needs as they arise. The Group retains access to capital markets so that maturing debt may be refinanced as it falls due.

Liquidity risk is managed by short-term and long-term cash flow forecasts. In addition, the Group has undrawn committed facilities totalling 
£3.0bn (2018: £4.3bn), consisting of a syndicated revolving credit facility and bilateral facilities, which mature between 2020 and 2021.

The Group has a £15.0bn Euro Medium Term Note programme, of which £4.2bn was in issue at 23 February 2019 (2018: £5.3bn), plus £0.4bn 
equivalent of USD denominated notes issued under 144A documentation (2018: £0.6bn). 

For liquidity risk relating to Tesco Bank, refer to the separate section on Tesco Bank financial risk factors on pages 137 and 138.

The following is an analysis of the undiscounted contractual cash flows payable under financial liabilities and derivative liabilities taking into 
account contractual terms that provide the counterparty a choice of when (the earliest date) an amount is repaid by the Group. The potential 
cash outflow of £20.3bn is considered acceptable as it is offset by financial assets of £19.2bn (2018: £18.6bn offset by financial assets of 
£19.6bn).

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

135

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 23 Financial risk management continued
The undiscounted cash flows will differ from both the carrying values and fair values. Floating rate interest is estimated using the prevailing 
rate at the balance sheet date. Cash flows in foreign currencies are translated using spot rates at the balance sheet date. For index-linked 
liabilities, inflation is estimated at 3% for the life of the liability (2018: 3%).

At 23 February 2019
Non-derivative financial liabilities
Bank and other borrowings
Interest payments on borrowings
Customer deposits – Tesco Bank
Deposits from banks – Tesco Bank
Finance leases
Trade and other payables(a)
Derivative financial liabilities
Net settled derivative contracts – receipts
Net settled derivative contracts – payments
Gross settled derivative contracts – receipts
Gross settled derivative contracts – payments
Total

At 24 February 2018
Non-derivative financial liabilities
Bank and other borrowings
Interest payments on borrowings
Customer deposits – Tesco Bank
Deposits from banks – Tesco Bank
Finance leases
Trade and other payables(a)(b)
Derivative financial liabilities
Net settled derivative contracts – receipts
Net settled derivative contracts – payments
Gross settled derivative contracts – receipts
Gross settled derivative contracts – payments
Total

Due  
within 
 1 year
£m

(1,515)
(258)
(8,569)
(337)
(44)
(9,354)

6
(291)
2,438
(2,460)
(20,348)

Due  
within 
 1 year
£m

(1,401)
(298)
(7,655)
(209)
(20)
(8,996)

15
(27)
3,366
(3,426)
(18,651)

Due  
between  
1 and 2 
years
£m

(1,221)
(205)
(1,348)
(410)
(11)
(28)

3
(340)
(262)
260
(3,562)

Due  
between  
1 and 2 
years
£m

(1,445)
(323)
(874)
(12)
(34)
(34)

9
(197)
15
(13)
(2,908)

Due  
between  
2 and 3 
years
£m

Due  
between  
3 and 4 
years
£m

Due  
between  
4 and 5 
years
£m

(556)
(176)
(336)
(945)
(11)
(41)

2
(59)
14
(43)
(2,151)

Due  
between  
2 and 3 
years
£m

(963)
(243)
(500)
(412)
(11)
(34)

5
(340)
103
(97)
(2,492)

(28)
(142)
(108)
–
(11)
(11)

–
(79)
–
–
(379)

Due  
between  
3 and 4 
years
£m

(926)
(219)
(179)
(947)
(11)
(25)

5
(37)
13
(71)
(2,397)

(854)
(141)
(186)
–
(7)
(11)

–
(6)
–
–
(1,205)

Due  
between  
4 and 5 
years
£m

(28)
(163)
(105)
–
(11)
(24)

2
(58)
–
–
(387)

Due  
beyond  
5 years
£m

(3,118)
(1,267)
(1)
–
(127)
(293)

–
(20)
–
–
(4,826)

Due  
beyond  
5 years
£m

(3,860)
(1,852)
–
–
(120)
(247)

1
(109)
–
–
(6,187)

(a)  Trade and other payables includes £423m (2018: £494m) of contract liabilities.
(b)  Prior year derivative financial liabilities amounts have been adjusted to reflect the gross up of derivatives in a liability position at year-end.

Foreign exchange risk
The Group is exposed to foreign exchange risk principally via:

 – transactional exposure that arises from the cost of future purchases of goods, where those purchases are denominated in a currency 

other than the functional currency of the purchasing company. Transactional currency exposures that could significantly impact the Group 
income statement are hedged. These exposures are hedged via forward foreign currency contracts or purchased currency options, which 
are designated as cash flow hedges; 

 – net investment exposure arises from changes in the value of net investments denominated in currencies other than Pounds Sterling.  
The Group hedges a part of its investments in its international subsidiaries via foreign currency derivatives and borrowings in matching 
currencies, which are formally designated as net investment hedges. During the current financial year, currency movements increased 
the net value, after the effects of hedging, of the Group’s overseas assets by £100m (2018: increase by £318m). The Group also ensures 
that each subsidiary is appropriately hedged in respect of its non-functional currency assets; and

 – loans to non-UK subsidiaries. These are hedged via foreign currency derivatives and borrowings in matching currencies. These are not 

formally designated as hedges as gains and losses on hedges and hedged loans will naturally offset.

The impact on the Group financial statements from foreign currency volatility is shown in the sensitivity analysis below.

Sensitivity analysis
The impact on the Group financial statements from foreign currency and interest rate volatility is discussed below.

The analysis excludes the impact of movements in market variables on the carrying value of pension and other post-employment obligations 
and on the retranslation of overseas net assets as required by IAS 21 ‘The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates’. However, it does 
include the foreign exchange sensitivity resulting from local entity non-functional currency financial instruments.

The sensitivity analysis has been prepared on the basis that the amount of net debt, the ratio of fixed to floating interest rates of the debt 
and derivatives portfolio, and the proportion of financial instruments in foreign currencies are all constant and on the basis of the hedge 
designations in place at 23 February 2019. It should be noted that the sensitivity analysis reflects the impact on income and equity due to 
financial instruments held at the balance sheet date. It does not reflect any change in sales or costs that may result from changing interest 
or exchange rates. 

136

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

The following assumptions were made in calculating the sensitivity analysis:

 – the sensitivity of interest payable to movements in interest rates is calculated on net floating rate exposures on debt, deposits and 

derivative instruments with no sensitivity assumed for RPI-linked debt, which has been swapped to fixed rates;

 – changes in the carrying value of derivative financial instruments designated as fair value hedges from movements in interest rates or foreign 

exchange rates have an immaterial effect on the Group income statement and equity due to compensating adjustments in the carrying 
value of debt;

 – changes in the carrying value of derivative financial instruments designated as net investment hedges from movements in foreign exchange 

rates are recorded directly in the Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss);

 – changes in the carrying value of derivative financial instruments not designated as hedging instruments only affect the Group income 

statement;

 – all other changes in the carrying value of derivative financial instruments designated as hedging instruments are fully effective with no 

impact on the Group income statement; and

 – the floating leg of any swap or any floating rate debt is treated as not having any interest rate already set, therefore a change in interest 

rates affects a full 12-month period for the interest payable portion of the sensitivity calculations.

Using the above assumptions, the following table shows the illustrative effect on the Group income statement and equity that would result, at 
the balance sheet date, from changes in interest rates and currency exchange rates that are reasonably possible for major currencies where 
there have recently been significant movements:

1% increase in interest rates (2018: 1%)
10% appreciation of the Euro (2018: 10%)
10% appreciation of the US Dollar (2018: 10%)

2019

Income 
gain/(loss)
£m
58
1
–

Equity 
gain/(loss)
£m
(32)
(96)
100

2018

Income 
gain/(loss)
£m
69
4
6

Equity 
gain/(loss)
£m
(30)
(143)
129

A decrease in interest rates and a depreciation of foreign currencies would have the opposite effect to the impact in the table above.

The impact on the Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss) from changing exchange rates results from the revaluation of financial 
liabilities used as net investment hedges. The impact on the Group statement of comprehensive income/(loss) will largely be offset by the 
revaluation in equity of the hedged assets.

Capital risk
The Group’s objectives when managing capital (defined as net debt plus equity) are to safeguard the Group’s ability to continue as a going 
concern in order to provide returns to shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders, while protecting and strengthening the Group 
balance sheet through the appropriate balance of debt and equity funding. The Group manages its capital structure and makes adjustments 
to it, in light of changes to economic conditions and the strategic objectives of the Group.

To maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may adjust the dividend payment to shareholders, buy back shares and cancel them, 
or issue new shares.

The Group raises finance in the public debt markets and borrows from financial institutions. The policy for debt is to smooth the debt maturity 
profile with the objective of ensuring continuity of funding. This policy continued during the financial year, with debt redeemed of £2.3bn (2018: 
£2.7bn). One €750m bond with a maturity of October 2023 was issued in the current financial year (2018: nil). The Group borrows centrally and 
locally, using a variety of capital market instruments and borrowing facilities to meet the Group’s business requirements of each local 
business.

Refer to Note 30 for the value of the Group’s net debt (£3.2bn; 2018: £2.6bn), and the Group statement of changes in equity for the value of 
the Group’s equity (£14.8bn; 2018: £10.5bn).

Insurance risk
The Group is exposed to the risk of being inadequately protected from liabilities arising from unforeseen events. The Group purchased assets, 
earnings and combined liability protection from the open insurance market for higher value losses only.

The risk not transferred to the insurance market is retained within the Group with some cover being provided by the Group’s captive 
insurance company, ELH Insurance Limited in Guernsey, which covers Assets, Earnings and Combined Liability.

Tesco Bank
Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk arises mainly where assets and liabilities in Tesco Bank’s banking activities have different repricing dates and from 
unexpected changes to the yield curve. Tesco Bank is exposed to interest rate risk through dealings with retail customers as well as 
through lending to and borrowing from the wholesale market. Tesco Bank has established limits for risk appetite and stress tests are 
performed using sensitivity to fluctuations in underlying interest rates in order to monitor this risk. Tesco Bank also use the Capital at 
Risk (CaR) approach which assesses the sensitivity (value change) of a reduction in the Bank’s capital to movements in interest rates. 
The scenarios considered include both parallel and non-parallel movements of the yield curve and have been designed to assess impacts 
across a suitable range of severe but plausible movements in interest rates. Interest rate risk is primarily managed using interest rate swaps 
as the main hedging instrument.

Liquidity and funding risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that Tesco Bank has insufficient liquidity resources to meet its obligations as they fall due. Funding risk is the risk that 
Tesco Bank does not have sufficiently stable and diverse sources of funding.

Tesco Bank operates within a Liquidity Risk Management Policy Framework (LRMP) to ensure that sufficient funds are available at all times to 
meet demands from depositors, to fund agreed advances, to meet other commitments as and when they fall due, and to ensure the Board’s 
risk appetite is met.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

137

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 23 Financial risk management continued
Liquidity and funding risks are assessed through the Individual Liquidity Adequacy Assessment Process (ILAAP) on at least an annual basis. 
Formal limits are set within the LRMP to maintain liquidity risk exposures within the Liquidity Risk Appetite set by the Board and key liquidity 
measures are monitored on a regular basis. Tesco Bank maintains a conservative liquidity and funding profile to confirm that it is able to meet 
its financial obligations under normal, and stressed, market conditions.

Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk that a bank borrower or counterparty will fail to meet its obligations in accordance with contractually agreed terms and 
Tesco Bank will incur losses as a result. Credit risk principally arises from the Bank’s retail lending activities but also from the placement of 
surplus funds with other banks and money market funds, investments in transferable securities and interest rate and foreign exchange 
derivatives. In addition, credit risk arises from contractual arrangements with third parties where payments and commissions are due to the 
Bank for short periods of time. Assessment of the expected credit loss (ECL) on loans and advances to customers and banks has taken into 
account a range of macro-economic scenarios, one of which reflects a no-deal Brexit.

The ECL is determined by multiplying together the probability of default (PD), exposure at default (EAD) and loss given default (LGD) for the 
relevant time period and for each asset category and by discounting back to the balance sheet date. The ECL calculation and the 
measurement of significant deterioration in credit risk both incorporate forward-looking information using a range of macro-economic 
scenarios, with key variables being the Bank of England base rate, unemployment rate, house price index and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The sensitivities in the ECL allowance to reasonably possible changes in the following key assumptions as at 28 February 2019 are set out below:

Key assumption
Probability of default

Loss given default

Macro-economic factors

Probability of default threshold (staging)

Reasonably  
possible change
Increase of 2.5%
Decrease of 2.5%
Increase of 2.5%
Decrease of 2.5%
Upside scenario
Base scenario
Downside scenario
Increase of 20%
Decrease of 20%

Impact on ECL allowance  
(£ million)
9
(9)
12
(12)
(33)
(21)
67
(14)
10

Tesco Bank could be exposed to unacceptable levels of bad debt and also suffer reputational damage if it did not provide adequate support to 
customers who are experiencing financial difficulties. Forbearance is relief granted by a lender to assist customers in financial difficulty, 
through arrangements which temporarily allow the customer to pay an amount other than the contractual amounts due. These temporary 
arrangements may be initiated by the customer or the Group where financial distress would prevent repayment within the original terms and 
conditions of the contract. The main aim of forbearance is to support customers in returning to a position where they are able to meet their 
contractual obligations.

Tesco Bank has adopted the definition of forbearance in the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) final draft Implementing Technical Standards 
(ITS) of July 2014. The Group reports all accounts meeting this definition, providing for them appropriately. 

Controls and risk mitigants
Tesco Bank has well defined forbearance policies and processes. A number of forbearance options are made available to customers by the 
Group. These routinely, but not exclusively, include the following:

 – arrangements to repay arrears over a period of time, by making payments above the contractual amount, that ensure the loan is repaid 

within the original repayment term;

 – short-term concessions, where the borrower is allowed to make reduced repayments (or in exceptional circumstances, no repayments) on 

a temporary basis to assist with short-term financial hardship; and

 – for secured products, it may also be acceptable to allow the customer to clear the arrears over an extended period of time, provided the 

payments remain affordable.

Credit cards – UK 
Credit cards – Europe
Credit cards – Commercial
Loans
Mortgages

Gross Loans and Advances
subject to Forbearance
Programmes

Forbearance programmes as a 
proportion of total Loans and 
Advances by category

Proportion of Forbearance 
Programmes covered  
by impairment provision

2019
£m
92.8
–
0.1
48.4
6.0

2018
£m
69.6
0.9
0.1
42.4
5.9

2019
%
2.0
–
4.8
1.1
0.2

2018
%
1.5
2.7
4.7
1.0
0.2

2019
%
53.3
–
90.8
48.0
1.2

2018
%
72.3
40.9
95.0
68.2
0.2

Amended disclosures in line with IFRS 9 requirements have been applied to the current financial year only. The comparative period note 
disclosures repeat those disclosures made in the prior year. Below are the areas of disclosure in relation to the prior year which have been 
replaced in the current year by amended IFRS 9 disclosures as above.

138

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Asset quality
Ineffective management and controls over the emerging asset quality of the Group’s lending portfolios could expose the Group to 
unacceptable levels of bad debt.

Controls and risk mitigants
Tesco Bank’s asset quality is reflected through the level of its impairment by lending type. Asset quality is maintained through credit and 
affordability assessments at asset origination, combined with regular monitoring and reporting of asset quality to the appropriate Senior 
Management team and risk committees.

The table below presents an analysis of credit exposure by impairment status across the different exposure classes. The table predominantly 
relates to banking assets; the retail instalment lending applies to credit agreements in the insurance business. The prior financial year amounts 
below are presented gross of impairment and exclude fair value hedge adjustments of £(16)m.

At 24 February 2018
Past due and impaired
Less than 90 days past due 
90-179 days past due 
180 days plus past due
Past due but not impaired
Less than 29 days past due 
30-59 days past due 
60-119 days past due
Neither past due nor impaired
Low risk(a)
High risk(b)
Total

Retail 
unsecured 
lending 
£m

Retail mortgage 
lending 
£m

Retail 
instalment 
lending 
£m

44
59
109

55
20
13

8,010
327
8,637

–
–
–

1
–
–

2,983
26
3,010

–
–
–

–
–
–

129
–
129

Total 
£m

44
59
109

56
20
13

11,122
353
11,776

(a)  Low risk is defined as an asset with a probability of default of less than 10%. 
(b)  High risk is defined as an asset with a probability of default of 10% or more.

The credit risk exposure from off-balance sheet items in 2019, mainly undrawn contractual lending commitments, was £12.2bn (2018: £12.4bn).

Gross loans and advances to customers of £17m were subject to active forbearance arrangements and were considered to be not impaired on 
the basis that the Group did not anticipate that the future expected cash flows of the gross loans and advances would be impacted. Of this 
total, £5m was included in ‘neither past due nor impaired’ and £12m in ‘past due but not impaired’.

Insurance risk
Tesco Bank is indirectly exposed to insurance risks through its ownership of 49.9% of Tesco Underwriting Limited (TU), an authorised insurance 
company. Insurance risk is defined as the risk accepted through the provision of insurance products in return for a premium. The timing and 
quantum of the risks are uncertain and determined by events outside the control of Tesco Bank. The key insurance risks within TU relate to 
underwriting risk and reserving risk. TU operates a separate framework to ensure that the TU insurance portfolio operates within agreed risk 
appetite. Tesco Bank closely monitors performance of the portfolio against specific thresholds and limits.

Note 24 Customer deposits and deposits from banks 

Customer deposits
Deposits from banks

Of which:
Current
Non-current

2019 
£m
10,465
1,663
12,128

8,832
3,296
12,128

2018 
£m
9,245
1,539
10,784

7,812
2,972
10,784

Deposits from banks include liabilities of £324m (2018: £200m) that have been sold under sale and repurchase agreements.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

139

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 25 Provisions

At 25 February 2017 (as previously reported)
IFRS 15 restatement (Note 36)
At 26 February 2017 (restated)
Foreign currency translation
Amount released in the year
Amount provided in the year
Amount utilised in the year
Unwinding of discount
At 24 February 2018 
Foreign currency translation
Acquired through business combination (Note 31)
Amount released in the year
Amount provided in the year
Amount utilised in the year
Unwinding of discount
At 23 February 2019

The balances are analysed as follows:

Current
Non-current

Property 
provisions 
£m
851
–
851
5
(33)
153
(120)
13
869
2
40
(68)
115
(118)
15
855

Restructuring 
provisions 
£m
98
–
98
1
(32)
157
(146)
–
78
(1)
–
(26)
221
(129)
–
143

Other 
provisions 
£m
174
(3)
171
–
(14)
211
(50)
–
318
–
4
(196)
53
(110)
–
69

2019
£m
320
747
1,067

Total 
£m
1,123
(3)
1,120
6
(79)
521
(316)
13
1,265
1
44
(290)
389
(357)
15
1,067

2018
£m
544
721
1,265

Property provisions
Property provisions comprise onerous lease provisions, including leases on unprofitable stores and vacant properties, dilapidations provisions 
and asset retirement obligation provisions. 

The calculation of the value in use of the leased properties to the Group is based on the same assumptions for growth rates and expected 
changes to future cash flows as those for Group owned properties, as discussed in detail in Note 11, discounted at the appropriate risk-free 
rate. The cost of exiting lease contracts is estimated as the present value of expected surrender premiums or deficits from subletting at 
market rents, assuming that the Group can sublet properties at market rents, based on discounting at the appropriate risk-adjusted rate. 
For some leases, termination of the lease at the break clause requires the Group to either purchase the property or buy out the equity 
ownership of the property at fair value. No value is attributed to the purchase conditions since they are at fair value. It is also assumed 
that the Group is indifferent to purchasing the properties.

Based on the factors set out above, the Group has recognised a net onerous property provision charge in the year of £47m (2018: £120m), 
comprising a £115m charge and £68m release, largely relating to onerous lease contracts for fully impaired properties and other onerous 
contracts relating to properties.

Of the net £47m (2018: £120m) onerous property provision charge recognised in the year, a £44m (2018: £105m) charge has been recognised 
as an exceptional item within cost of sales classified as ‘Net impairment reversal of non-current assets and onerous property provisions’. 
The remaining £3m charge was not included in exceptional items. 

The Group has performed sensitivity analysis on the onerous lease provisions using reasonably possible scenarios based on recent market 
movements. Neither a half a percentage point increase nor decrease in the risk-free rate would result in a material change to the onerous 
lease provisions. 

Onerous lease provisions will be utilised over the relevant lease terms, predominantly within the next 25 years.

Restructuring provisions
Of the £195m net charge (£221m charge, £26m release) recognised in the year, £182m (2018: £102m) has been classified within exceptional 
items as ‘Net restructuring and redundancy costs’ and related to store and head office restructuring in the UK & ROI £131m (2018: £102m), 
Central Europe £27m (2018: £nil), Asia £26m (2018: £nil) and Tesco Bank £2m release (2018: £nil).

Other provisions
In prior financial years Tesco PLC and Tesco Freetime Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary undertaking of the Group, initiated an appeal against 
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regarding the treatment of VAT on Clubcard rewards. Following the Upper Tier Tribunal ruling in 
the Group’s favour on 24 January 2019, HMRC’s Solicitors Office confirmed that they would not appeal the ruling. The Group has therefore 
released the £176m provision within exceptional items, classified as ‘Freetime VAT provision release’ within cost of sales.

On 1 October 2018, the FCA issued a warning notice to the Group in relation to an online fraudulent attack against Tesco Bank’s debit cards in 
November 2016. The Group agreed to a settlement payment of £16m which was paid in the year. 

Other provisions also include provisions for Tesco Bank customer redress in respect of potential complaints arising from the historical sales 
of PPI, and in respect of customer redress relating to instances where certain requirements of the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) for post-
contract documentation have not been fully complied with. In each instance, management have exercised judgement as to both the timescale 
for implementing the redress campaigns and the final scope of any amounts payable. During the current financial year, an additional charge of 
£16m was recognised in the Group income statement within exceptional items, classified as ‘Provision for customer redress’ within cost of 
sales. Refer to Note 4 for further details. 

Other provisions are expected to be utilised in the next financial year.

140

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 26 Share-based payments
The Group income statement charge for the financial year recognised in respect of share-based payments is £118m (2018: £252m), which 
is made up of share option schemes and share bonus payments. Of this amount, £103m (2018: £128m) will be settled in equity and £15m 
(2018: £124m) in cash. The movement of cash-settled charge with reference to the prior year is due to employees no longer being offered 
cash-settled awards.

Share option schemes
The Company had 10 share option schemes in operation during the financial year, all of which are equity-settled schemes:

i. 

The Savings-related Share Option Scheme (1981) permits the grant to colleagues of options in respect of ordinary shares linked to a 
building society/bank save-as-you-earn contract for a term of three or five years with contributions from colleagues of an amount 
between £5 and £500 per four-weekly period. Options are capable of being exercised at the end of the three or five-year period at a 
subscription price of not less than 80% of the average of the middle-market quotations of an ordinary share over the three dealing 
days immediately preceding the offer date.

ii.  The Irish Savings-related Share Option Scheme (2000) permits the grant to ROI colleagues of options in respect of ordinary shares linked 

to a building society/bank save-as-you-earn contract for a term of three or five years with contributions from colleagues of an amount 
between €12 and €500 per four-weekly period. Options are capable of being exercised at the end of the three or five-year period at a 
subscription price of not less than 80% of the average of the middle-market quotations of an ordinary share over the three dealing days 
immediately preceding the offer date. 

iii.  The Executive Incentive Plan (2004) permitted the grant of options in respect of ordinary shares to selected senior executives. Options are 
normally exercisable between three and 10 years from the date of grant for nil consideration. No further options will be granted under this 
scheme.

iv.  The Executive Incentive Plan (2014) permits the grant of options in respect of ordinary shares to selected senior executives as a proportion 
of annual bonus following the completion of a required service period and is dependent on the achievement of corporate performance 
and individual targets. Options are normally exercisable between three and 10 years from the date of grant for nil consideration. Full 
details of this plan can be found in the Directors’ remuneration report.

v.  The Performance Share Plan (2011) permits the grant of options in respect of ordinary shares to selected executives. Options are normally 
exercisable between the vesting date(s) set at grant and 10 years from the date of grant for nil consideration. The vesting of options will 
normally be conditional upon the achievement of specified performance targets over a three-year period and/or continuous employment.

vi.  The Discretionary Share Option Plan (2004) permitted the grant of approved, unapproved and international options in respect of ordinary 
shares to selected executives. Options are normally exercisable between three and 10 years from the date of grant at a price not less than 
the middle-market quotation or average middle-market quotations of an ordinary share for the dealing day or three dealing days 
preceding the date of grant. The vesting of options will normally be conditional upon the achievement of a specified performance target 
related to the annual percentage growth in earnings per share over a three-year period. There were no discounted options granted 
under this scheme.

vii.  The Group Bonus Plan permits the grant of options in respect of ordinary shares to selected senior executives as a proportion of annual 
bonus following the completion of a required service period and is dependent on the achievement of corporate performance and 
individual targets. Options are normally exercisable between three and 10 years from the date of grant for nil consideration.

viii.  The Long Term Incentive Plan (2015) permits the grant of options in respect of ordinary shares to selected executives. Options are 

normally exercisable between the vesting date(s) set at grant and 10 years from the date of grant for nil consideration. The vesting of 
options will normally be conditional upon the achievement of specified performance targets over a three-year period and/or 
continuous employment.

ix.  The Booker Group PLC Savings Related Share Option Plan 2008 (Booker SAYE) permitted the grant to Booker colleagues of options in 

respect of ordinary shares in Booker Group PLC (Booker Shares) linked to a building society/bank save-as-you-earn contract for a term of 
three years with contributions from Booker colleagues of an amount between £5 and £500 per four-weekly period. Following completion 
of the acquisition of Booker Group PLC by Tesco PLC, Booker colleagues elected to roll over their existing options over Booker shares 
under the Booker SAYE into equivalent options over ordinary shares in Tesco PLC (Tesco Shares). The options over Tesco Shares are 
capable of being exercised at the end of the three year period at a subscription price equivalent to not less than 80% of the average of 
the middle-market quotations of a Booker Share over the three dealing days immediately preceding the offer date.

x.  The Booker Group PLC Performance Share Plan 2008 (Booker PSP) permitted the grant of options in respect of Booker Shares to selected 
Booker senior colleagues (Booker PSP Options). Under the Booker PSP, tax approved Company Share Option Plan options (Booker CSOP 
Options) were also granted to selected Booker senior colleagues. Following completion of the acquisition of Booker Group PLC by Tesco 
PLC, Booker senior colleagues elected to roll over their existing Booker PSP and Booker CSOP Options over Booker Shares into equivalent 
options over Tesco Shares. Booker PSP Options are normally exercisable between the third anniversary of the original date of grant and 
10 years from the date of grant for nil consideration. The vesting of options is normally conditional upon the achievement of specified 
performance targets over a three year period and continuous employment. Conditional on the vesting of the relevant Booker PSP Options, 
Booker CSOP Options are normally exercisable between the third anniversary of the original date of grant and 10 years from the date of 
grant at a subscription price equivalent to the market value of the Booker Shares at the time of grant.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

141

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 26 Share-based payments continued
The following tables reconcile the number of share options outstanding and the weighted average exercise price (WAEP):

For the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019

Savings-related 
Share Option Scheme

Irish Savings-related 
Share Option Scheme

Nil cost  
Share Option Scheme

Booker Group PLC 
Savings Related

Booker Group PLC 
Performance Share 
Plan Scheme

Other Schemes*

 Options
244,886,709

WAEP

 Options
162.21 6,926,980

WAEP

167.88 36,015,512

 Options WAEP
–

50,220,486
(25,820,506)
(53,695,441)
215,591,248

1,925,295
188.00
(1,215,831)
188.17
150.43
(1,165,466)
168.04 6,470,978

411,499
168.00
(6,321,392)
178.35
150.34
(4,728,490)
175.06 25,377,129

150.00 to 
322.00

150.00 to 
322.00

2.46

2.71

10,629,678

210.24

406,100

192.01

6,491,384

150.00 to 
322.00

150.00 to 
322.00

0.43

0.43

–
–
–
–

–

7.31

–

–

6.16

 Options
–

WAEP
–

 Options WAEP
–
–

 Options
32,377,140

WAEP
–

15,684,396
(1,566,612)
(4,290,079)
9,827,705

141.47
145.59
131.06
145.36

17,446,916
(662,887)
(5,561,682)
11,222,347

88.26 to 
163.76

–
–
–
–

–

–
(19,997,503)
–
12,379,637

–
–
–
338.40

338.40 to 
427.00

1.89

0.96

0.20

573,798

137.13

1,740,392

137.40

0.35

–

–

–

12,379,637

–

338.40

0.20

Outstanding at 
24 February 2018
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised
Outstanding at  
23 February 2019
Exercise price 
range (pence)
Weighted average 
remaining 
contractual life 
(years)
Exercisable at 
23 February 2019
Exercise price 
range (pence)
Weighted average 
remaining 
contractual life 
(years)

*  Other Schemes includes Approved Share Option Scheme (Approved), Unapproved Share Option Scheme (Unapproved), and International Executive Share Option Scheme (International). 
Respectively: WAEP for Outstanding at 24 February 2018 were 391.25p (2017: 420.87p), 375.18p (2017: 395.84p) and 375.69p (2017: 397.17p); WAEP for Forfeited during the current financial 
year were 416.94p (2018: 458.33p), 400.96p (2018: 446.01p) and 396.04p (2018: 439.33p); WAEP for Outstanding at 23 February 2019 were 338.40p (2018: 391.25p), 338.40p (2018: 375.18p) 
and 338.40p (2018: 375.69p). Share options were exercised on a regular basis throughout the financial year. The average share price during the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 was 
228.55p (2018: 187.68p).

For the 52 weeks ended 24 February 2018

Savings-related 
Share Option Scheme

Irish Savings-related 
Share Option Scheme

Nil cost  
Share Option Scheme

Booker Group PLC 
Savings Related

Booker Group PLC 
Performance 
Share Plan Scheme

Other Schemes*

 Options
256,862,881

WAEP

 Options
168.91 6,339,307

WAEP

 Options
179.46 27,640,320

WAEP
–

 Options
–

WAEP
–

 Options WAEP
–

 Options
– 47,965,090

WAEP
–

40,314,086
(47,125,400)
(5,164,858)
244,886,709

168.00 2,078,500
(1,471,619)
204.95
(19,208)
150.29
162.21 6,926,980

168.00
218.17
150.02
167.88

10,838,726
(1,740,742)
(722,792)
36,015,512

150.00 to 
322.00

150.00 to 
322.00

2.48

2.62

4,482,116

282.00

118,702

282.00

4,597,668

282.00

282.00

–
–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–

–

8.16

–

–

0.43

0.43

6.93

–
–
–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–
(15,587,950)
–
32,377,140

–
–
–
–

–

338.40 to 
427.00

–

0.61 to 0.79

32,377,140

–

–

375.18 to 
391.25
338.40 to 
427.00

0.61 to  
0.79

Outstanding at  
25 February 2017
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised
Outstanding at  
24 February 2018
Exercise price 
range (pence)
Weighted 
average 
remaining 
contractual life 
(years)
Exercisable at 
24 February 2018
Exercise price 
range (pence)
Weighted 
average 
remaining 
contractual life 
(years)

*  Refer to previous table for footnotes.

142

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

The fair value of share options is estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes or Monte Carlo option pricing model. The following 
table gives the assumptions applied to the options granted in the respective periods shown. No assumption has been made to incorporate 
the effects of expected early exercise.

Expected dividend yield (%)
Expected volatility (%)
Risk-free interest rate (%)
Expected life of option (years)
Weighted average fair value of options granted (pence)
Probability of forfeiture (%)
Share price (pence)
Weighted average exercise price (pence)

2019

2018

SAYE
1.5-4.2%
29%
0.8-1.1%
3 or 5
41.01
7-11%
212.40
0.88-188.00

Nil cost
1.5%
25-30%
0.8-0.9%
3-6
68.04-180.35
–
204.00
–

SAYE
2.2-3.6%
29-32%
0.9-1.0%
3 or 5
41.86
7-11%
187.00
168.00

Nil cost
 –
33%
0.1-0.2%
3-6
68.04-180.35
–
180.35
–

Volatility is a measure of the amount by which a price is expected to fluctuate during a period. The measure of volatility used in the Group’s 
option pricing models is the annualised standard deviation of the continuously compounded rates of return on the share over a period of 
time. In estimating the future volatility of the Company’s share price, the Board considers the historical volatility of the share price over the 
most recent period that is generally commensurate with the expected term of the option, taking into account the remaining contractual life 
of the option.

Share bonus and incentive schemes
Selected executives participate in the Group Bonus Plan, a performance-related bonus scheme. The amount paid to colleagues is based on 
a percentage of salary and is paid partly in cash and partly in shares. Bonuses are awarded to selected executives who have completed a 
required service period and depend on the achievement of corporate and individual performance targets.

Selected executives participate in the Performance Share Plan (2011) and the Long Term Incentive Plan (2015). Awards made under these plans 
will normally vest on the vesting date(s) set on the date of the award for nil consideration. Vesting will normally be conditional on the 
achievement of specified performance targets over a three-year performance period and/or continuous employment.

The Executive Directors participate in short-term bonus and long-term incentive schemes designed to align their interests with those of 
shareholders. Full details of these schemes can be found in the Directors’ remuneration report.

The fair value of shares awarded under these schemes is their market value on the date of award. Expected dividends are not incorporated 
into the fair value. 

The number and weighted average fair value (WAFV) of share bonuses awarded during the financial year were:

Group Bonus Plan
Performance Share Plan

2019

2018

Number of shares
16,489,286
25,570,973

WAFV pence Number of shares
21,898,988
24,638,938

242.07
254.79

WAFV pence
180.35
180.94

Note 27 Post-employment benefits
Pensions
The Group operates a variety of post-employment benefit arrangements, covering both funded and unfunded defined benefit schemes and 
defined contribution schemes.

Defined contribution
Defined contribution schemes are open to all Tesco employees in the UK.

Under the Group’s defined contribution pension schemes, employees of the Group pay contributions to an independently administered fund, 
into which the Group also pays contributions based upon a fixed percentage of the employee’s contributions. The Group has no further 
payment obligations once its contributions have been paid. Contributions paid for defined contribution schemes of £332m (2018: £316m) 
have been recognised in the Group income statement. This includes £110m (2018: £108m) of salaries paid as pension contributions.

Defined benefit schemes
The Group has a defined benefit pension deficit of £2,808m (2018: £3,282m), comprising a number of schemes. The most significant of these 
are for the Group’s employees in the UK, which are closed to future accrual, and ROI. The defined benefit pension deficit in the UK represents 
96% of the Group deficit (2018: 96%).

Business combinations
On 5 March 2018, the Group acquired Booker, which has three UK defined benefit pension schemes. The Booker Pension Scheme, closed to 
future accrual, is the primary scheme, with two smaller closed schemes relating to retail partners Budgens and Londis. The combined defined 
benefit pension deficit acquired on business combination was £22m. 

Guaranteed minimum pension
On 26 October 2018 a high court judgement was handed down regarding the Lloyds Banking Group’s defined benefit pension scheme which 
affects many pension schemes in the UK, including the Group’s UK schemes. The judgement concluded that schemes should be amended to 
ensure that members who have guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs) receive the same benefits regardless of their gender. This change 
impacts GMP benefits accrued between 1990 and 1997. The trustees of the Group’s UK schemes are considering the impact of the judgement 
on scheme liabilities and individual members, and at 23 February 2019 this work is ongoing.

In consultation with independent actuaries, the Group has estimated the financial effect of equalising benefits to increase the Group 
accounting pension deficit by £43m. This has been recognised as a past service cost, and is presented as an exceptional item in the income 
statement (Note 4).

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

143

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 27 Post-employment benefits continued
United Kingdom
The principal plan within the Group is the Tesco PLC Pension Scheme (the Scheme), the assets of which are held as a segregated fund and 
administered by the Trustee.

The Scheme is established under trust law and has a corporate trustee that is required to run the Scheme in accordance with the Scheme’s 
Trust Deed and Rules and to comply with all relevant legislation. Responsibility for governance of the Scheme lies with the Trustee. The Trustee 
is a company whose directors comprise:

i. 

representatives of the Group; and

ii.  representatives of the Scheme participants, in accordance with its articles of association and UK pension law.

Scheme funding
The Group considers two measures of the pension deficit. The accounting position is shown on the Group balance sheet. The funding position, 
calculated at the triennial actuarial assessment, is used to agree contributions made to the schemes. The two measures will vary because they 
are for different purposes, and are calculated at different dates and in different ways. The key calculation difference is that the funding 
position considers the expected returns of scheme assets when calculating the liability, whereas the accounting position calculated under 
IAS 19 discounts liabilities based on corporate bond yields. 

The most recent triennial actuarial assessment of the Scheme was performed on 31 March 2017 using the projected unit credit method. 
The funding position was a deficit of £3,016m. The market value of the Scheme’s assets was £13,141m and these assets represented 81% of 
the benefits that had accrued to members, after allowing for expected increases in pensions in payment.

The Group has a plan to fund the Scheme pension deficit and to meet the expenses of the Scheme. Annual contributions of £285m for 10 
years from April 2018 were agreed, with contributions being assessed at the next triennial review. The expenses for the year, which include the 
Pension Protection Fund levy, were £23m (2018: £25m). In the event that the Pension Protection Fund levy for the Scheme exceeds £75m over 
three years, the Group agreed to pay this excess amount to the Scheme over the following three years. The market value of assets held as 
security in favour of the Scheme is at least £575m.

The last Booker Pension Scheme triennial valuation showed a funding deficit of £41m at 31 March 2016, with agreed contributions of £5m 
per annum for six years from 1 April 2017. No contributions were required for the Budgens or Londis schemes.

IFRIC 14
The Group is not required to recognise any additional liabilities in relation to funding plans, or limit the recognition of any surpluses, as any 
future economic benefits will be available to the Group by way of future refunds or reductions to future contributions.

Maturity Profile of Obligations
The estimated duration of the Scheme obligations is an indicator of the weighted average term of benefit payments after discounting. 
For the Scheme this is 24 years.

Around half of the undiscounted benefits are due to be paid beyond 30 years’ time, with the last payments expected to be over 
80 years from now. 

The estimated undiscounted benefit payments expected to be paid out over the life of the Scheme is shown below:

£’000m

5

4

3

2

1

0

1-5

6-10

11-15

16-20

21-25

26-30

31-35
Years

Deferred members

Current pensioners

36-40

41-45

46-50

51-55

56-60

61-65

66-70

70+

The liabilities held by the Scheme as at 31 March 2017, the date of the last triennial valuation, are broken down as follows:

Deferred
Pensioner

%
81
19

144

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Risks
The Group bears a number of risks in relation to the Scheme, which are described below:

Description of risk

Mitigation

Risk

Investment

Inflation

Interest rate

The Scheme’s accounting liabilities are 
calculated using a discount rate set with 
reference to corporate bond yields. If the 
return on the Scheme’s assets underperform 
this rate, the accounting deficit will increase.
If the Scheme’s assets underperform the 
expected return for the funding valuation, 
this may require additional contributions to 
be made by the Group.

The Scheme’s benefit obligations are linked to 
inflation. A higher rate of expected long-term 
inflation will therefore lead to higher liabilities, 
both for the IAS 19 and funding liability.
If the Scheme’s funding liability increases, 
this may require additional contributions to 
be made by the Group.

A decrease in corporate bond yields will 
increase the accounting deficit under IAS 19. 
Similarly, a decrease in gilt yields will have an 
adverse impact on the funding position of the 
Scheme. This may lead to additional 
contributions to be made by the Group.

The Trustee and the Group regularly monitor the funding position and 
operate a diversified investment strategy.
The Trustee and Group take a balanced approach to investment risk, 
and use a long-term plan to manage investment risk.

As part of the investment strategy, the Trustee aims to mitigate this 
risk through investment in a liability-driven investment (LDI) portfolio.
The portfolio invests in assets which increase in value as inflation 
expectations increase. This mitigates the impact of any adverse 
movement in long-term inflation expectations.
The Scheme’s holdings are designed to hedge against inflation risk up 
to the value of the funded liabilities.
Additionally, changes to future benefits were introduced in June 2012 to 
reduce the Scheme’s exposure to inflation risk by changing the basis for 
calculating the rate of increase in pensions to CPI (previously RPI).

As part of the investment strategy, the Trustee aims to mitigate this risk 
through investment in a liability-driven investment (LDI) portfolio. 
The portfolio invests in assets which increase in value as interest rates 
decrease. The Scheme’s holdings are designed to hedge against interest 
rate risk up to the value of the funded liabilities. 
Because the aim of the portfolio is to mitigate risk for the funding 
position, ineffectiveness in hedging for the accounting deficit under  
IAS 19 can arise where corporate bond and gilt yields diverge. This is 
partially offset by Scheme holdings in corporate bonds.

To reduce this risk, changes to future benefits were introduced in 
June 2012 to increase the age at which members can take their full 
pension by two years. 
The Trustee and Group regularly monitor the impact of changes 
in longevity on Scheme obligations.

Life expectancy

The Scheme’s obligations are to provide 
benefits for the life of the member and so 
increases in life expectancy will lead to 
higher liabilities.

The Operations and Audit Pensions Committee was established to further strengthen the Group’s Trustee Governance and provide greater 
oversight and stronger internal control over the Group’s risks. The Group Pensions Committee was also set up to provide an additional layer 
of governance and risk management. Further mitigation of the risks is provided by external advisors and the Trustee who consider the 
funding position, fund performance and impacts of any regulatory changes.

Scheme principal assumptions

Financial assumptions
The major assumptions, on a weighted average basis, used by the actuaries to value the defined benefit obligation of the Scheme were as follows:

Discount rate
Price inflation
Rate of increase in deferred pensions*
Rate of increase in pensions in payment*
Benefits accrued before 1 June 2012
Benefits accrued after 1 June 2012

* 

In excess of any guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) element.

2019
%

2.8
3.1
2.1

2.9
2.2

2018
%

2.9
3.1
2.1

2.9
2.2

Mortality	assumptions
The Group, in consultation with an independent actuary, conducted a mortality analysis under the Scheme as part of the triennial actuarial 
valuation process. Subsequent to this analysis, the Group adopted the best estimate assumptions for the calculation of the IAS 19 pension 
liability for the main UK scheme. 

The mortality assumptions used are based on tables that have been projected to 2017 with CMI 2016 improvements. In addition, the 
allowance for future mortality improvements from 2017 have been updated to be in line with CMI 2017, with a long-term improvement rate 
of 1.25% per annum.

The base tables used in calculating the mortality assumptions are different for various categories of members, as shown below:

Male

Female

Staff
Senior Manager
Staff
Senior Manager

Pensioner
100% of SAPS S2 Normal
85% of SAPS S2 Normal Light
100% of SAPS S2 All
85% of SAPS S2 All

Non-Pensioner
105% of SAPS S2 Normal
87% of SAPS S2 Normal Light
98% of SAPS S2 All
86% of SAPS S2 All

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

145

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 27 Post-employment benefits continued

The following table illustrates the expectation of life of an average member retiring at age 65 at the reporting date and a member reaching 
age 65 at the reporting date +25 years. A comparison between the two retiree dates illustrates the expected improvements in mortality over 
the next 25 years.

Retiring at reporting date at age 65:

Retiring at reporting date +25 years at age 65:

Male
Female
Male
Female

2019 
Years
22.3
24.0
23.7
26.0

2018 
Years
22.3
24.0
23.8
26.0

Sensitivity analysis of significant actuarial assumptions
The sensitivity of significant assumptions upon the Scheme defined benefit obligations are detailed below:

Financial assumptions – Increase/(decrease) in UK defined benefit obligation
Impact of 0.1% increase of the assumption
Impact of 0.1% decrease of the assumption
Impact of 1.0% increase of the assumption
Impact of 1.0% decrease of the assumption

Mortality assumptions – Increase/(decrease) in UK defined benefit obligation
Impact of 1 year increase in longevity
Impact of 1 year decrease in longevity

2019

2018

Discount rate 
£m
(401)
401
(3,406)
4,709

Inflation rate 
£m
334
(301)
3,607
(2,839)

Discount rate 
£m
(388)
404
(3,377)
4,718

Inflation rate 
£m
339
(323)
3,651
(2,876)

2019
£m
685
(685)

2018
£m
630
(630)

Sensitivities are calculated by changing the relevant assumption whilst holding all other assumptions constant. The sensitivities reflect 
the range of recent assumption movements, and illustrate that the financial assumption sensitivities do not move in a linear fashion. 
Movements in the defined benefit obligation from discount rate and inflation rate changes may be partially offset by movements in assets.

Overseas
The most significant overseas scheme is the funded defined benefit scheme which operates in ROI. An independent actuary, using the 
projected unit credit method, carried out the latest actuarial assessment of the ROI scheme as at 23 February 2019. At the financial year end,  
the IAS 19 deficit relating to ROI was £106m (2018: £104m).

Post-employment benefits other than pensions
The Group operates a scheme offering post-retirement healthcare benefits. The cost of providing these benefits has been accounted 
for on a similar basis to that used for defined benefit pension schemes.

The liability as at 23 February 2019 of £9m (2018: £11m) was determined in accordance with the advice of independent actuaries.  
During the financial year, £nil (2018: £nil) has been charged to the Group income statement and £nil (2018: £1m) of benefits were paid.

Plan assets
The Group’s pension schemes hold assets that both provide returns and mitigate risk, including the volatility of future pension payments.

The table below shows a breakdown of the combined investments held by the Group’s schemes:

Equities
UK
Europe
Rest of the world

Bonds
Government
Corporates – investment grade
Corporates – non-investment grade

Property
UK
Rest of the world

Alternative assets
Hedge funds
Private equity
Other

Liability	Driven	Investment	(LDI)	portfolios
Cash
Total fair value of assets

2019

Quoted
£m

Unquoted
£m

203
684
4,224
5,111

1,174
648
2
1,824

83
6
89

2
–
230
232
3,695
300
11,251

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

1,032
423
1,455

383
851
827
2,061
287
–
3,803

Total
£m

203
684
4,224
5,111

1,174
648
2
1,824

1,115
429
1,544

385
851
1,057
2,293
3,982
300
15,054

2018

Quoted
£m

Unquoted
£m

284
823
3,828
4,935

1,029
487
7
1,523

–
–
–

–
–
14
14
3,301
349
10,122

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

917
381
1,298

405
694
740
1,839
(24)
–
3,113

Total
£m

284
823
3,828
4,935

1,029
487
7
1,523

917
381
1,298

405
694
754
1,853
3,277
349
13,235

%

1
5
28
34

8
4
0
12

7
3
10

3
6
7
16
26
2
100

%

2
6
29
37

8
3
0
11

7
3
10

3
5
6
14
25
3
100

Quoted assets are those with a quoted price in an active market.

146

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

The LDI category consists of assets, including gilts and index-linked gilts, of the value of £6,683m (2018: £5,912m) and associated repurchase 
agreements and swaps of £(2,701)m (2018: £(2,635)m). Other derivatives are included in the asset category to which they relate, reflecting the 
underlying nature and exposure of the derivative.

The plan assets include £198m (2018: £185m) relating to property used by the Group. Group property with net carrying value of £489m  
(2018: £509m) (Note 11) and a value to the Scheme of at least £575m (2018: £575m) is held as security in favour of the Scheme.

Movement in the Group pension deficit during the current financial year 

Fair value of plan assets

Defined benefit obligation

Net defined benefit surplus/(deficit)

Opening balance

Current service cost
Past service cost
Finance income/(cost)
Included in the Group income statement

Remeasurement gain/(loss):

Financial assumptions gain/(loss)
Demographic assumptions gain/(loss)
Experience gain/(loss)
Return on plan assets excluding finance income

Foreign currency translation
Included in the Group statement of comprehensive 
income/(loss)

Member contributions
Employer contributions
Additional employer contributions
Benefits paid
Acquired through business combination (Note 31)
Other movements

Closing balance
Deferred tax asset
Deficit in schemes at the end of the year, net of 
deferred tax

Note 28 Called up share capital

Allotted, called up and fully paid:
At the beginning of the year
Share options exercised
Share bonus awards issued
Shares issued for the acquisition of Booker 
(Note 31)
At the end of the year

2019
£m
13,235

2018
£m
13,196

2019
£m
(16,517)

–
–
396
396

–
–
–
932
(3)
929

2

33
266
(547)
740
494

–
–
326
326

–
–
–
(57)
8
(49)

2

34
245
(519)
–
(238)

(35)
(43)
(485)
(563)

(478)
(51)
(39)
–
3
(565)

(2)

–
–
547
(762)
(217)

2018
£m
(19,817)

(38)
–
(488)
(526)

2,190
680
452
–
(13)
3,309

(2)

–
–
519
–
517

2019
£m
(3,282)

(35)
(43)
(89)
(167)

(478)
(51)
(39)
932
–
364

–

33
266
–
(22)
277

2018
£m
(6,621)

(38)
–
(162)
(200)

2,190
680
452
(57)
(5)
3,260

–

34
245
–
–
279

15,054

13,235

(17,862)

(16,517)

(2,808)
470
(2,338)

(3,282)
554
(2,728)

2019
Ordinary shares of 5p each

Number

8,192,116,619
41,525,096
12,000,000
1,547,854,846

9,793,496,561

£m

410
2
1
77

490

2018
Ordinary shares of 5p each

Number

8,174,932,553
5,184,066
12,000,000
–

8,192,116,619

£m

409
–
1
–

410

During the financial year, 41.5 million (2018: 5.2 million) ordinary shares of 5 pence each were issued in relation to share options for an 
aggregate consideration of £60m (2018: £8m), 12.0 million (2018: 12.0 million) ordinary shares of 5 pence each were issued in relation to 
share bonus awards and 1,548 million ordinary shares of 5 pence each were issued as a result of the acquisition of Booker. 

The shares issued as consideration for the acquisition of Booker were valued at £3,127m based on the published share price on 2 March 2018 
of 202.0 pence with £77m recognised as share capital and the remaining £3,050m recognised as merger reserve, included within other 
reserves on the Group statement of changes in equity. Refer to Note 31 for further details.

The Group has a share forfeiture programme following the completion of a tracing and notification exercise to any shareholders who have not 
had contact with the Company over the past 12 years, in accordance with the provisions set out in the Company’s Articles of Association. 
Under the share forfeiture programme the shares and dividends associated with shares of untraced members are forfeited, with the resulting 
proceeds transferred to the Group to use for good causes in line with the Group’s corporate responsibility strategy. During the financial year, 
the Group received £nil (2018: £3m) proceeds from sale of untraced shares and £nil (2018: £2m) write-back of unclaimed dividends, which are 
reflected in share premium and retained earnings respectively.

As at 23 February 2019, the Directors were authorised to purchase up to a maximum in aggregate of 977.2 million (2018: 817.5 million) 
ordinary shares before the Annual General Meeting 2019 on 13 June 2019.

The holders of ordinary shares are entitled to receive dividends as declared from time to time and are entitled to one vote per share at 
general meetings of the Company.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

147

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 28 Called up share capital continued
Own shares purchased
Own shares represent the shares of Tesco PLC that are held in Treasury or by the Employee Benefit Trust. Own shares are recorded at cost 
and are deducted from equity.

The own shares held represents the cost of shares in Tesco PLC purchased from the market and held by the Tesco International Employee 
Benefit Trust to satisfy share awards under the Group’s share scheme plans (refer to Note 26). The number of ordinary shares held by the 
Tesco International Employee Benefit Trust at 23 February 2019 was 68.1 million (2018: 11.5 million). This represents 0.70% of called-up share 
capital at the end of the year (2018: 0.14%).

No own shares held of Tesco PLC were cancelled during the periods presented.

Note 29 Related party transactions
Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties, have been eliminated on consolidation and are not 
disclosed in this note. Transactions between the Group and its joint ventures and associates are disclosed below:

Transactions

Sales to related parties
Purchases from related parties
Dividends received
Injection of equity funding

Joint ventures

Associates

2019
£m
486
376
29
11

2018
£m
474
396
15
21

2019
£m
–
20
12
–

2018
£m
–
18
11
–

Sales to related parties consist of services/management fees and loan interest.

Purchases from related parties include £280m (2018: £275m) of rentals payable to the Group’s joint ventures (including those joint ventures 
formed as part of the sale and leaseback programme).

Transactions between the Group and the Group’s pension plans are disclosed in Note 27.

Balances

Amounts owed to related parties
Amounts owed by related parties
Loans to related parties (net of deferred profits)*
Loans from related parties (Note 21)

Joint ventures

Associates

2019
£m
20
37
133
–

2018
£m
20
27
138
6

2019
£m
–
–
–
–

2018
£m
–
–
–
–

*  Loans to related parties of £133m (2018: £138m) are presented net of deferred profits of £54m (2018: £54m) historically arising from the sale of property assets to joint ventures. For loans 

to related parties, a 12-month expected credit loss is recorded on initial recognition. The expected credit loss was immaterial as at the current reporting date.

A number of the Group’s subsidiaries are members of one or more partnerships to whom the provisions of the Partnerships (Accounts) 
Regulations 2008 (Regulations) apply. The financial statements for those partnerships have been consolidated into these financial statements 
pursuant to Regulation 7 of the Regulations.

Transactions with key management personnel
Members of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Tesco PLC are deemed to be key management personnel. 

Key management personnel compensation for the financial year was as follows:

Salaries and short-term benefits
Pensions and cash in lieu of pensions
Share-based payments
Joining costs and loss of office costs 

Attributable to:
The Board of Directors (including Non-executive Directors)
Executive Committee (members not on the Board of Directors)

2019 
£m
17
2
13
1
33

10
23
33

2018 
£m
17
2
19
4
42

12
30
42

Of the key management personnel who had transactions with Tesco Bank during the financial year, the following are the balances at the 
financial year end:

At 23 February 2019
At 24 February 2018

Credit card, mortgage and 
 personal loan balances 

Current and saving deposit 
accounts

Number of key 
management 
personnel
3
7

Number of key 
management 
personnel
10
5

£m
–
1

£m
2
–

148

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 30 Analysis of changes in net debt
At  
24 February 
2018
£m

IFRS 9 
adjustment*
£m

Cash flow
£m

Fair-value 
movements
£m

Foreign  
exchange 
movements
£m

Interest  
income/ 
(charge)
£m

Other 
non-cash 
movements 
£m

At  
23 February 
2019
£m

Total Group
Bank and other borrowings
Finance lease payables
Net derivative financial instruments
Arising from financing activities
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term investments
Joint venture loans
Interest and other receivables
Interest payables
Net derivative interest
Total Group

Tesco Bank
Bank and other borrowings
Net derivative financial instruments
Arising from financing activities
Cash and cash equivalents
Joint venture loans
Interest payables
Tesco Bank

Retail
Bank and other borrowings
Finance lease payables
Net derivative financial instruments
Arising from financing activities
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term investments
Joint venture loans
Interest and other receivables
Interest payables
Net derivative interest
Net debt

(8,318)
(122)
465
(7,975)
4,059
1,029
138
1
(181)
16
(2,913)

(1,584)
(42)
(1,626)
1,304
34
–
(288)

(6,734)
(122)
507
(6,349)
2,755
1,029
104
1
(181)
16
(2,625)

–
–
–
–
–
–
(13)
–
–
–
(13)

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
(13)
–
–
–
(13)

1,496
17
(35)
1,478
(1,158)
(639)
(5)
(18)
306
–
(36)

154
–
154
(261)
(5)
5
(107)

1,342
17
(35)
1,324
(897)
(639)
–
(18)
301
–
71

(136)
–
128
(8)
–
–
–
–
–
–
(8)

9
13
22
–
–
–
22

(145)
–
115
(30)
–
–
–
–
–
–
(30)

(6)
(2)
–
(8)
15
–
–
–
(2)
–
5

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

(6)
(2)
–
(8)
15
–
–
–
(2)
–
5

(43)
–
20
(23)
–
–
–
18
(259)
(3)
(267)

–
–
–
–
–
(5)
(5)

(43)
–
20
(23)
–
–
–
18
(254)
(3)
(262)

–
(22)
–
(22)
–
–
13
–
–
–
(9)

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
(22)
–
(22)
–
–
13
–
–
–
(9)

(7,007)
(129)
578
(6,558)
2,916
390
133
1
(136)
13
(3,241)

(1,421)
(29)
(1,450)
1,043
29
–
(378)

(5,586)
(129)
607
(5,108)
1,873
390
104
1
(136)
13
(2,863)

* 

Impact of adopting IFRS 9 as explained in Note 1 and Note 36.

Net debt excludes the net debt of Tesco Bank but includes that of discontinued operations. Balances and movements in respect of the total 
Group and Tesco Bank are presented to allow reconciliation between the Group balance sheet and the Group cash flow statement.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

149

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 30 Analysis of changes in net debt continued

At  
25 February 
2017
£m

Cash flow
£m

Fair value 
movements 
£m

Foreign 
exchange 
movements  
£m

Interest 
income/ 
(charge) 
£m

Other 
non-cash 
movements 
£m

Non-cash 
movements 
– Turkey 
disposal 
£m

Re-
classification of 
movements in 
net debt of the 
disposal group 
£m

At  
24 February 
2018
£m

Total Group
Bank and other borrowings
Finance lease payables
Net derivative financial instruments
Arising from financing activities
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term investments
Joint venture loans
Interest and other receivables
Interest payables
Net derivative interest
Net debt of the disposal group
Total Group
Tesco Bank
Bank and other borrowings
Net derivative financial instruments
Arising from financing activities
Cash and cash equivalents
Joint venture loans
Interest payables
Tesco Bank
Retail
Bank and other borrowings
Finance lease payables
Net derivative financial instruments
Arising from financing activities
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term investments
Joint venture loans
Interest and other receivables
Interest payables
Net derivative interest
Net debt of the disposal group
Net debt

(11,712)
(114)
893
(10,933)
3,821
2,727
137
1
(167)
28
(65)
(4,451)

(1,440)
(105)
(1,545)
789
34
–
(722)

(10,272)
(114)
998
(9,388)
3,032
2,727
103
1
(167)
28
(65)
(3,729)

3,408
10
(253)
3,165
212
(1,697)
–
(27)
351
(23)
–
1,981

(150)
–
(150)
515
–
4
369

3,558
10
(253)
3,315
(303)
(1,697)
–
(27)
347
(23)
–
1,612

91
–
(195)
(104)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(104)

6
63
69
–
–
–
69

85
–
(258)
(173)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(173)

(49)
(2)
–
(51)
15
(1)
–
–
(3)
–
–
(40)

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

(49)
(2)
–
(51)
15
(1)
–
–
(3)
–
–
(40)

(56)
–
20
(36)
–
–
–
27
(362)
11
–
(360)

–
–
–
–
–
(4)
(4)

(56)
–
20
(36)
–
–
–
27
(358)
11
–
(356)

–
(16)
–
(16)
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
(15)

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
(16)
–
(16)
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
(15)

73
–
–
73
–
–
–
–
3
–
–
76

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

73
–
–
73
–
–
–
–
3
–
–
76

Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in Net debt

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Elimination of Tesco Bank movement in cash and cash equivalents
Retail cash movement in other Net debt items: 

Net increase/(decrease) in short-term investments
Net increase/(decrease) in joint venture loans
Net (increase)/decrease in borrowings and lease financing 
Net cash flows from derivative financial instruments
Net interest paid on components of Net debt

Change in Net debt resulting from cash flow
Retail IFRS 9 adjustment
Retail net interest charge on components of Net debt
Retail fair value and foreign exchange movements
Debt disposed on disposal of Turkish operations
Retail other non-cash movements
(Increase)/decrease in Net debt
Opening Net debt
Closing Net debt

150

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

(73)
–
–
(73)
11
–
–
–
(3)
–
65
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

(73)
–
–
(73)
11
–
–
–
(3)
–
65
–

(8,318)
(122)
465
(7,975)
4,059
1,029
138
1
(181)
16
–
(2,913)

(1,584)
(42)
(1,626)
1,304
34
–
(288)

(6,734)
(122)
507
(6,349)
2,755
1,029
104
1
(181)
16
–
(2,625)

2018 
£m
212
(515)

(1,697)
–
3,568
(253)
297
1,612
–
(356)
(213)
76
(15)
1,104
(3,729)
(2,625)

2019 
£m
(1,158)
261

(639)
–
1,359
(35)
283
71
(13)
(262)
(25)
–
(9)
(238)
(2,625)
(2,863)

Note 31 Business combinations
On 5 March 2018, the Group acquired a 100% stake in Booker Group plc (Booker). Booker is the largest food wholesaler in the UK. 
The acquisition builds on the Group’s core expertise of sourcing, distributing and selling food in the UK market and will enable the Group 
to enter the out-of-home food consumption market. The Directors expect the merger to deliver financial synergies through both revenue 
and cost synergies. 

The transaction has been accounted for as an acquisition of a business in accordance with IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’. The total 
consideration of £3,993m was satisfied by cash, shares and other items as detailed in the table below. Booker shareholders received 
0.861 Tesco PLC ordinary shares and 42.6 pence in cash per Booker share held. A total of 1,548 million new ordinary shares of the Company 
have been issued as a result of the transaction, with new shares carrying equal voting and distribution rights as the existing ordinary shares. 
The fair value of the shares is based on the published share price on 2 March 2018 of 202.0 pence.

The consideration and cash flow impacts of acquisitions in the current financial year are reflected below:

Cash flow statement

Consideration
£m

Operating cash flows
£m

Investing cash flows
£m

Cash outflow from 
major acquisition
£m

Acquisition of Booker 
Cash consideration
Equity shares issued

Fair value of Booker’s share plans acquired
Dividend paid to Booker shareholders
Acquisition costs paid
Less: cash acquired
Total Booker

Acquisition of another subsidiary
Total acquisitions

766
3,127
3,893
33
67
–
–
3,993

11
4,004

–
–
–
–
–
(43)
–
(43)

–
(43)

(766)
–
(766)
–
(67)
–
129
(704)

(11)
(715)

The fair value of assets and liabilities recognised as a result of the acquisition of Booker are as follows:

Property, plant and equipment
Acquired intangible assets 

Asset held for sale
Cash and cash equivalents
Trade and other receivables
Inventories
Deferred tax
Trade and other payables
Non-current liabilities
Provisions
Post-employment benefit obligations
Total
Goodwill
Purchase consideration

(766)
–
(766)
–
(67)
(43)
129
(747)

–
(747)

Fair value
£m
326
755

34
129
173
357
(126)
(663)
(19)
(44)
(22)
900
3,093
3,993

The goodwill is primarily attributable to synergies, new customers, the acquired workforce and business expertise. None of the goodwill is 
expected to be deductible for tax purposes. Acquired intangible assets comprise catering customer relationships of £657m, retail customer 
relationships of £58m, brands of £30m and a property-related purchase option valued at £10m. The customer relationships and brand assets 
are amortised over 9 to 15 years. Refer to Note 10. The amortisation charge on the acquired intangibles is excluded from the Group’s 
operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.

The fair value of acquired trade and other receivables is £173m and includes trade receivables with a fair value of £123m. The gross contractual 
amount for trade receivables due was £132m, of which £9m is expected to be uncollectable.

Booker contributed revenues of £5,826m and net profit after tax of £122m to the Group from 5 March 2018 to 23 February 2019. The £122m 
profit includes the impact of consolidation adjustments, primarily £74m of amortisation expense on acquired intangible assets. If the 
acquisition had occurred on 25 February 2018, Group revenue and net profit after tax for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 would not be 
materially different. Transaction costs of £22m have been included in administrative expenses for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 (52 
weeks ended 24 February 2018: £21m).

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

151

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 32 Commitments and contingencies
Capital commitments
At 23 February 2019, there were commitments for capital expenditure contracted for, but not incurred, of £70m (2018: £116m), principally 
relating to store development.

Contingent liabilities
There are a number of contingent liabilities that arise in the normal course of business, which if realised, are not expected to result in a 
material liability to the Group. The Group recognises provisions for liabilities when it is more likely than not that a settlement will be required 
and the value of such a payment can be reliably estimated.

As previously reported, law firms in the UK have announced the intention of forming claimant groups to commence litigation against the Group 
for matters arising out of or in connection with its overstatement of expected profits in 2014, and purport to have secured third party funding 
for such litigation. In this regard, the Group has received two high court claims against Tesco PLC. The first was received on 31 October 2016 
from a group of 112 investors (now reduced to 78 investors) and the second was received on 5 December 2016 from an investment company 
and a trust company. The merit, likely outcome and potential impact on the Group of any such litigation that either has been or might 
potentially be brought against the Group is subject to a number of significant uncertainties and, therefore, the Group cannot make any 
assessment of the likely outcome or quantum of any such litigation as at the date of this disclosure.

Prior to the disposal of its Korean operations (Homeplus), Tesco PLC provided guarantees in respect of 13 Homeplus lease agreements in 
Korea in the event of termination of the relevant lease agreement by the landlord due to Homeplus’ default. Entities controlled by MBK 
Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), as the purchasers of Homeplus, undertook to procure Tesco PLC’s release from 
these guarantees following the disposal of Homeplus. Five guarantees currently remain outstanding. This liability decreases over time with all 
relevant leases expiring in the period between 2027 and 2031. The maximum potential liability under these outstanding guarantees is between 
KRW 229bn (£156m) and KRW 377bn (£256m). In the event that the guarantees are called, the potential economic outflow is estimated at 
KRW 167bn (£114m), with funds of KRW 73bn (£50m) placed in escrow to provide the primary payment mechanism for these guarantees. The 
net potential outflow to Tesco is therefore estimated at KRW 94bn (£64m). Additionally, Tesco PLC has the benefit of an indemnity from the 
purchasers of Homeplus for any claims made over and above the amounts in escrow.

Following the sale of Homeplus in 2015, as disclosed in the Prospectus issued by the Company on 5 February 2018, the Group has received 
claims from the purchasers relating to the sale of the business. The claims are being vigorously defended. Whilst the claims have evolved since 
originally issued, the Group does not believe the claims are likely to lead to a material outflow of funds.

As previously reported, Tesco Stores Limited has received claims from current and former Tesco store colleagues alleging that their work is of 
equal value to that of colleagues working in Tesco’s distribution centres and that differences in terms and conditions relating to pay are not 
objectively justifiable. The claimants are seeking the differential between the pay terms looking back, and equivalence of pay terms moving 
forward. At present, the likely number of claims that may be received and the merit, likely outcome and potential impact on the Group of any 
such litigation is subject to a number of significant uncertainties and therefore, the Group cannot make any assessment of the likely outcome 
or quantum of any such litigation as at the date of this disclosure. There are substantial factual and legal defences to these claims and the 
Group intends to defend them.

Subsidiary audit exemptions
The following UK subsidiary undertakings are exempt from the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act) relating to the audit of 
individual accounts by virtue of section 479A of the Act.

Name 

Company number Name

Company Number Name

Company Number

Tesco International Internet Retailing Limited 00041420

One Stop Convenience Stores Limited

Dillons Newsagents Limited

One Stop Community Stores Limited

Paper Chain (East Anglia) Limited

Cullen’s Stores Limited 

Stewarts Supermarkets Limited

Europa Foods Limited

Gibbs News Limited

T&S Stores Limited

Day and Nite Stores Limited

Adminstore Limited

Spen Hill Management Limited

Tesco TLB Finance Limited

00140624

00198980

00256555

00279206

00299400

00658774

00744680

01228935

01746058

01882853

02460426

04967622

NutriCentre Limited

Tapesilver Limited

Tesco FFC Limited

Tesco Mobile Communications Limited

Tesco Mobile Services Limited

Spen Hill Developments Limited

Launchgrain Limited

Buttoncable Limited

Buttoncase Limited

Tesco Aqua (FinCo1) Limited

Tesco Gateshead Properties Limited

Tesco PEG Limited

02467178

02602894

05205362

08859202

04780729

04780734

04827219

05260856

05294246

05298861

05888959

08312535

06480309

Armitage Finance Unlimited

Spen Hill Regeneration Limited

Tesco Red (3LP) Limited

Tesco PENL Limited

Tesco Aqua (GP) Limited

Tesco Red (GP) Limited

Tesco Aqua (3LP) Limited

05966324

06418300

10127765

06479938

05721654

05721630

09947521

The Tesco Aqua Limited Partnership LP011520

The Tesco Red Limited Partnership

LP011522

Faraday Properties Limited

Wm. Low Supermarkets Limited

SC119496

SC119497

Spen Hill Properties (Holdings) PLC

02412674

Cheshunt Finance Unlimited

06807552

Tesco PLC will guarantee all outstanding liabilities that these subsidiaries are subject to as at the financial year ended 23 February 2019 in 
accordance with section 479C of the Act, as amended by the Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit Exemptions 
and Change of Accounting Framework) Regulations 2012.

Tesco PLC has irrevocably guaranteed the liabilities and commitments of the following Irish subsidiary undertakings, which have been 
exempted pursuant to Section 357 of the Companies Act 2014 of Ireland from the provisions of Section 347 and 348 of that Act: Monread 
Developments Limited; Edson Properties Limited; Edson Investments Limited; Cirrus Finance (2009) Limited; Commercial Investments Limited; 
Chirac Limited; Clondalkin Properties Limited; Tesco Ireland Pension Trustees Limited; Orpingford Unlimited Company; Tesco Trustee 
Company of Ireland Limited; WSC Properties Limited; Thundridge Unlimited Company; Pharaway Properties Limited; R.J.D. Holdings Unlimited 
Company; Nabola Development Limited; PEJ Property Investments Limited; Cirrus Finance Limited; Tesco Ireland Limited; Wanze Properties 
(Dundalk) Limited; Tesco Ireland Holdings Limited; and Tesco Mobile Ireland Limited. The irrevocable guarantee may be relied upon for the 
purposes of the aforementioned exemption, while the United Kingdom remains part of the European Economic Area.

152

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Tesco Bank
At 28 February 2019, Tesco Bank had contractual lending commitments totalling £12.2bn (2018: £12.4bn). The contractual amounts represent 
the amounts that would be at risk should the available facilities be fully drawn upon and not the amounts at risk at the reporting date.

Note 33 Tesco Bank capital resources
The following tables analyse the regulatory capital resources of Tesco Personal Finance PLC (TPF), being the regulated entity at the reporting 
date:

Common equity tier 1 capital: 
Shareholders’ funds and non-controlling interests, net of tier 1 regulatory adjustments
Tier 2 capital: 
Qualifying subordinated debt
Other interests
Total tier 2 regulatory adjustments
Total regulatory capital

2019 
£m

2018 
(restated) 
£m

1,439

1,502

235
–
(29)
1,645

235
99
(34)
1,802

On 27 June 2013, the final Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV) rules were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 
Following the publication of the CRD IV rules, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) issued a policy statement on 19 December 2013 detailing 
how the rules will be enacted within the UK with corresponding timeframes for implementation. The CRD IV rules are currently being phased in. 
The following tables analyse the regulatory capital resources of TPF (being the regulated entity) applicable as at the financial year end. 

The movement in common equity tier 1 capital during the financial year is analysed as follows:

At the beginning of the year
Initial application of IFRS 15
At the beginning of the year (restated)
Initial application of IFRS 9
Share capital and share premium
Profit attributable to shareholders*
Other reserves
Ordinary dividends
Movement in material holdings
Increase in intangible assets
Other – Tier 1
At the end of the year, excluding CRD IV adjustments
CRD IV adjustments – deferred tax (assets)/liabilities related to intangible assets
At the end of the year, including CRD IV adjustments

*  Profit attributable to shareholders restated for IFRS 15 (previously £130m).

2019
£m
1,502
–
1,502
(166)
–
136
(15)
(60)
–
47
–
1,444
(5)
1,439

2018
(restated)
£m
1,381
14
1,395
–
–
127
6
(50)
3
29
–
1,510
(8)
1,502

It is the Group’s policy to maintain a strong capital base, to expand it as appropriate and to utilise it efficiently throughout its activities to 
optimise the return to shareholders while maintaining a prudent relationship between the capital base and the underlying risks of the 
business. In carrying out this policy, the Group has regard to the supervisory requirements of the PRA.

Note 34 Lease commitments
Finance lease commitments – Group as lessee
The Group has finance leases for various items of plant, equipment, fixtures and fittings. There are also a small number of buildings that are 
held under finance leases. The fair value of the Group’s lease obligations approximate their carrying value.

Future minimum lease commitments under finance leases and hire purchase contracts, together with the present value of the net minimum 
lease commitments, are as follows:

Within one year
Greater than one year but less than five years
After five years
Total minimum lease commitments 
Less future finance charges
Present value of minimum lease commitments

Within one year
Greater than one year but less than five years
After five years
Total minimum lease commitments 
Analysed as:
Current
Non-current

Minimum lease commitments

2019
£m
44
40
127
211
(82)
129

2018
£m
20
67
120
207
(85)
122

Present value of net minimum 
lease commitments 

2019
£m
36
15
78
129

36
93
129

2018
£m
12
40
70
122

12
110
122

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

153

Financial statements 
Notes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 34 Lease commitments continued
Operating lease commitments – Group as lessee
Future undiscounted minimum lease commitments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

Within one year
Greater than one year but less than five years
After five years
Total undiscounted minimum lease commitments 

2019
£m
1,148
3,536
6,688
11,372

2018
£m
1,077
3,552
6,788
11,417

Future undiscounted minimum lease commitments under non-cancellable operating leases after five years are analysed further as follows:

Greater than five years but less than 10 years
Greater than 10 years but less than 15 years
After 15 years
Total undiscounted minimum lease commitments – after five years

2019
£m
3,131
1,976
1,581
6,688

2018
£m
3,035
2,008
1,745
6,788

The Group has used operating lease commitments discounted at 7% (2018: 7%) of £6,999m (2018: £6,931m) in its calculation of total 
indebtedness. The discounted operating lease commitment included in total indebtedness is different from the £10,505m (2018: £10,272m)
lease liability under IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ disclosed in Note 36, primarily due to differences in the discount rates used and the treatment of 
additional lease rentals arising from contracts that contain extend or buy conditions.

Operating lease commitments represent rentals payable by the Group for certain of its retail, distribution and office properties and other 
assets such as motor vehicles. The leases have varying terms, purchase options, escalation clauses and renewal rights. Purchase options 
and renewal rights, where they occur, are at market value. Escalation clauses are in line with market practices and include inflation-linked, 
fixed rates, resets to market rents and hybrids of these.

On 13 September 2018, the Group exercised its option to buy back the 50% equity holding in the Tesco Atrato Limited Partnership held by 
the other joint venture partner. The acquisition is scheduled to complete in September 2019, and under current accounting would lead to a 
reduction in minimum lease commitments of £790m (discounted: £400m). The most recent financial information for the partnership as at 
31 December 2018 showed net liabilities of £(6)m, principally composed of investment properties of £666m, borrowings of £(479)m and 
derivative financial liabilities of £(195)m.

The Group has lease-break options on certain sale and leaseback transactions. These options are exercisable if the Group exercises an 
existing option to buy back, at market value and at a specified date, either the leased asset or the equity of the other joint venture partner. 
No commitment has been included in respect of the buy-back option as the option is at the Group’s discretion. The Group is not obliged to 
pay lease rentals after that date, therefore minimum lease commitments exclude those falling after the buy-back date. The current market 
value of these properties is £2.8bn (2018: £2.8bn) and the total undiscounted lease rentals, if they were to be incurred following the option 
exercise date, would be £3.0bn (2018: £2.6bn) using current rent values, as shown below.

The additional lease rentals, if incurred, following the option exercise date would be as follows:

Within one year
Greater than one year but less than five years
Greater than five years but less than 10 years
Greater than 10 years but less than 15 years
After 15 years
Total undiscounted contingent additional lease rentals
Total discounted contingent additional lease rentals at 7% 

The lease-break options are exercisable between 2019 and 2023.

2019
£m
–
420
761
761
1,063
3,005
1,378

2018
£m
2
265
738
659
935
2,599
1,159

Operating lease commitments with joint ventures and associates
In prior years, the Group entered into several joint ventures and associates, and sold and leased back properties to and from these joint 
ventures and associates. The terms of these sale and leasebacks varied. However, common factors included: the sale of the properties to the 
joint venture or associate at market value; options within the lease for the Group to repurchase the properties at market value; market rent 
reviews; and 20 to 30 full-year lease terms. The Group reviews the substance as well as the form of the arrangements when determining the 
classification of leases as operating or finance. All of the leases under these arrangements are operating leases.

Operating lease receivables – Group as lessor
The Group both rents out its properties and also sublets various leased buildings under operating leases. At the balance sheet date, the 
following future minimum lease amounts are contractually receivable from tenants: 

Within one year
Greater than one year but less than five years
After five years
Total minimum lease receivables

2019
£m
213
287
230
730

2018
£m
202
291
222
715

154

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 35 Events after the reporting period
There were no material events after the balance sheet date. 

Note 36 Changes in accounting policies
Standards effective in the current year
This section explains the impact of the adoption of IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ and IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’ on the 
Group’s financial position and financial performance.

IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’
IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ replaced IAS 39 ‘Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement’ with the exception of macro hedge 
accounting. The standard became applicable for the current financial year. The Group has applied the classification, measurement and 
impairment requirements of the standard retrospectively, adjusting the opening balance sheet at the transition date of 25 February 2018 
with no restatement of comparative periods. Hedge accounting relationships within the scope of IFRS 9 have transitioned prospectively.

Classification and measurement
The Group has made the following classification changes:

 – all financial instruments classified as loans and receivables under IAS 39 have been classified and measured at amortised cost under IFRS 9; 

 – all financial instruments classified as available-for-sale under IAS 39 have been classified and measured at fair value through other 

comprehensive income under IFRS 9; and

 – all financial instruments classified as fair value through profit or loss under IAS 39 will continue to be classified and measured at fair value 

through profit or loss under IFRS 9.

Impairment
IFRS 9 requires the Group to recognise expected credit losses (ECL), and to update the amount of ECL recognised at each reporting date to 
reflect changes in the credit risk of financial assets. The ECL have been measured under the simplified approach, with the exception of loans 
and advances to customers and banks, debt instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income and joint venture and associate 
loans, where the general approach is applied.

The assessment of credit risk and the estimation of ECL are required to be unbiased, forward-looking and probability-weighted, determined 
by evaluating at the reporting date for each financial asset a range of possible outcomes using reasonable and supportable information about 
past events, current conditions and forecasts of future events and economic conditions. The estimation of ECL also takes into account the 
time value of money.

Transition	adjustment
The change in impairment methodology reduced the Group’s opening retained earnings on 25 February 2018 by £177m, with corresponding 
changes in the following balance sheet items:

Non-current assets
Trade and other receivables
Loans and advances to customers and banks
Deferred tax assets
Current assets
Loans and advances to customers and banks
Total adjustment

24 February 
2018
(restated)
£m

IFRS 9  
adjustment
£m

25 February 
2018 
£m

186
6,885
116

4,637

(13)
(73)
59

(150)
(177)

173
6,812
175

4,487

IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’
IFRS 15 introduces a five-step approach to the timing of revenue recognition based on performance obligations in customer contracts. 
The core principle of IFRS 15 is that an entity should recognise revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods and services to customers 
in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.

The Group recognises revenue from the principal activities of retailing and associated activities and retail banking and insurance services 
through Tesco Bank. For the majority of revenue streams, there is a low level of judgement applied in determining the consideration or 
the timing of transfer of control. The following revenue streams have been impacted by the adoption of IFRS 15.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

155

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 36 Changes in accounting policies continued
Insurance renewal commission
Prior to the adoption of IFRS 15, the Group recognised Tesco Bank insurance commission income on policy renewals at the time of the 
renewal. Under IFRS 15, the Group recognises commission income as policies are sold for a minority of insurance policies managed and 
underwritten by a third party. This is the point in time at which the Group has satisfied all of its performance obligations in relation to the 
policies sold and it is considered highly probable that a significant reversal in the amount of revenue recognised will not occur in future 
periods. A contract asset has been recognised in relation to this revenue, which is included within trade and other receivables.

Clubcard
Consistent with previous accounting policy, Clubcard and loyalty initiatives are considered a separate performance obligation. IFRS 15 
introduces a change in the valuation of these initiatives; from the standalone fair value to the relative standalone selling prices. A contract 
liability continues to be recognised for Clubcard points issued, not yet redeemed and is included within trade and other payables. 

Tesco	Mobile
Prior to adoption of IFRS 15, the Group recognised handset and airtime income on pay monthly telecoms contracts as airtime services were 
provided to the customer. Under IFRS 15, the total contract transaction price is allocated across the two performance obligations; with 
handset income being recognised on delivery of the handset to the customer and airtime income recognised over time as the service is 
provided. A contract asset has been recognised in relation to handset revenue, which is included within trade and other receivables.

Transition	adjustment
The Group has adopted IFRS 15 retrospectively, with comparatives restated from a transition date of 26 February 2017. Opening retained 
earnings increased by £20m with a corresponding increase in trade and other receivables of £19m, an increase in inventory of £1m, a decrease 
in trade and other payables of £3m, a decrease in provisions of £3m, and an increase in the deferred tax liability of £(6)m.

In the financial year ended 24 February 2018, as a result of applying IFRS 15, revenue and operating profit increased by £2m and taxation 
expense moved by £nil leading to an increase in profit after tax of £2m.

Standards issued but not yet effective
This section explains the impact that the adoption of IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ will have on the Group’s financial position and financial performance for 
the financial year ended 23 February 2019, which will form the restated comparative period when the Group reports under IFRS 16 for the 
accounting period commencing 24 February 2019.

IFRS 16 ‘Leases’
IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ will be effective in the Group financial statements for the accounting period commencing 24 February 2019. The Group will 
adopt the standard retrospectively, with comparatives restated from a transition date of 25 February 2018.

IFRS 16 requires lessees to recognise right of use assets and lease liabilities on balance sheet for all leases, except short-term and low value 
asset leases. At commencement of the lease, the lease liability equals the present value of future lease payments, and the right of use asset 
equals the lease liability, adjusted for payments already made, lease incentives, initial direct costs and any provision for dilapidation costs.

For pre-IFRS 16 operating leases, the rental charge is replaced by depreciation of the right of use asset and interest on the lease liability. 
IFRS 16 therefore results in an increase to operating profit, which is reported prior to interest being deducted. Depreciation is charged on 
a straight-line basis, however, interest is charged on outstanding lease liabilities and therefore reduces over the life of the lease. As a result, 
the impact on the income statement below operating profit is highly dependent on average lease maturity. For an immature portfolio, 
depreciation and interest are higher than the rental charge they replace and therefore IFRS 16 is dilutive to EPS. For a mature portfolio, 
they are lower and therefore IFRS 16 is accretive. The Group’s lease portfolio on transition is relatively immature, being approximately 
one-third through an average total lease term of 26 years.

Under IFRS 16, the lease liability is remeasured upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a change in lease term or a change in future lease 
payments resulting from a change in an index or rate (for example, inflation-linked payments or market rate rent reviews). A corresponding 
adjustment is made to the right of use asset. Over three-quarters of the Group’s lease liability on transition is subject to inflation-linked rental uplifts. 
The Group will no longer recognise property provisions for onerous lease contracts as the lease payments are included within the lease liability.

The Group has applied the practical expedient not to reassess whether a contract is, or contains, a lease on transition. The Group has elected 
to recognise payments for short-term leases and leases of low value assets on a straight-line basis as an expense in the income statement.

IFRS 16 has not had a significant impact on the Group’s existing finance leases or on leases in which the Group is a lessor.

The most significant IFRS 16 judgements include the determination of lease term when there are extension or termination options, the 
selection of an appropriate discount rate to calculate the lease liability and the impairment of right of use assets.

The Group’s lease portfolio consists of retail, distribution and office properties and other assets such as motor vehicles.

The Group’s IFRS 16 Project is governed by a Steering Committee, which regularly reports progress to the Group Audit Committee. The Group 
has finalised its IFRS 16 accounting policies, determined the appropriate discount rates to apply to lease payments, selected and implemented 
an IT system to collate and report lease data, established procedures and controls for accounting and reporting under IFRS 16 and established 
a process of parallel reporting for the comparative period. 

IFRS 16 has a significant impact on reported assets, liabilities and the income statement of the Group, as well as the classification of cash flows relating 
to lease contracts. The standard impacts a number of key measures such as operating profit and cash generated from operations, as well as a number 
of alternative performance measures used by the Group. Further details on the impact of IFRS 16 can be found in the Group’s ‘Introducing IFRS 16’ 
analyst and investor briefing held on 15 February 2019 and available on www.tescoplc.com/investors/reports-results-and-presentations.

The tables below set out the expected impact of IFRS 16 on the transition balance sheet at 24 February 2018 and on the comparative year 
balance sheet as at 23 February 2019 and related debt measures. Right of use assets (net of any impairments) and lease liabilities are 
presented separately on the face of the balance sheet. Net debt, which includes lease liabilities, increases. Total indebtedness also increases 
as the IFRS 16 lease liability exceeds the discounted operating lease commitments previously included. Provisions decrease as onerous lease 
provisions are replaced by impairments of the right of use assets. Trade and other payables reduce as accruals for straight line rental expense 
on leases with fixed rent increases are eliminated. Trade and other receivables also reduce as lease prepayments are eliminated. A deferred 
tax asset is recognised on the transition adjustment.

156

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Balance sheet restatement

As at 23 February 2019

As at 24 February 2018

Restated
£m

Reported(a) 
£m

Non-current assets
Goodwill and other intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment
Right of use assets
Investment property
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Trade and other receivables
Loans and advances to customers and banks
Derivative financial instruments
Deferred tax assets

Current assets
Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Loans and advances to customers and banks
Derivative financial instruments
Current tax assets
Short-term investments
Cash and cash equivalents

Non-current assets classified as held for sale

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Borrowings
Lease liability
Derivative financial instruments
Customer deposits and deposits from banks
Current tax liabilities
Provisions

Net current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Borrowings
Lease liability
Derivative financial instruments
Customer deposits and deposits from banks
Post employment benefit obligations
Deferred tax liabilities
Provisions

Net assets
Equity
Share capital
Share premium
All other reserves
Retained earnings
Equity attributable to the owners of the parent
Non-controlling interests
Total equity
APMs
Net debt(b)
Total indebtedness(c)

Reported 
£m

6,264
19,023
–
36
704
979
195
7,868
1,178
132
36,379

67
2,617
1,640
4,882
52
6
390
2,916
12,570
98
12,668

(9,354)
(1,599)
–
(250)
(8,832)
(325)
(320)
(20,680)
(8,012)

(384)
(5,673)
–
(389)
(3,296)
(2,808)
(236)
(747)
(13,533)
14,834

490
5,165
3,798
5,405
14,858
(24)
14,834

IFRS 16  
impact
£m

–
163
7,713
–
(38)
–
48
–
–
119
8,005

–
–
(90)
–
–
–
–
–
(90)
–
(90)

223
36
(646)
–
–
–
94
(293)
(383)

19
93
(9,859)
–
–
–
187
600
(8,960)
(1,338)

–
–
(21)
(1,317)
(1,338)
–
(1,338)

6,264
19,186
7,713
36
666
979
243
7,868
1,178
251
44,384

67
2,617
1,550
4,882
52
6
390
2,916
12,480
98
12,578

(9,131)
(1,563)
(646)
(250)
(8,832)
(325)
(226)
(20,973)
(8,395)

(365)
(5,580)
(9,859)
(389)
(3,296)
(2,808)
(49)
(147)
(22,493)
13,496

490
5,165
3,777
4,088
13,520
(24)
13,496

(2,863)
(12,200)

(10,341)
(3,342)

(13,204)
(15,542)

IFRS 16
 impact 
£m

–
191
7,527
–
(35)
–
31
–
–
285
7,999

–
–
(89)
–
–
–
–
–
(89)
–
(89)

221
12
(712)
–
–
–
128
(351)
(440)

–
110
(9,560)
–
–
–
14
592
(8,844)
(1,285)

–
–
(18)
(1,267)
(1,285)
–
(1,285)

(10,114)
(3,183)

Restated 
£m

2,661
18,712
7,527
100
654
860
217
6,885
1,117
401
39,134

68
2,264
1,415
4,637
27
12
1,029
4,059
13,511
149
13,660

(8,773)
(1,467)
(712)
(69)
(7,812)
(335)
(416)
(19,584)
(5,924)

(364)
(7,032)
(9,560)
(594)
(2,972)
(3,282)
(82)
(129)
(24,015)
9,195

410
5,107
717
2,983
9,217
(22)
9,195

(12,739)
(15,467)

2,661
18,521
–
100
689
860
186
6,885
1,117
116
31,135

68
2,264
1,504
4,637
27
12
1,029
4,059
13,600
149
13,749

(8,994)
(1,479)
–
(69)
(7,812)
(335)
(544)
(19,233)
(5,484)

(364)
(7,142)
–
(594)
(2,972)
(3,282)
(96)
(721)
(15,171)
10,480

410
5,107
735
4,250
10,502
(22)
10,480

(2,625)
(12,284)

(a)  After restating for the adoption of IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from Contracts with Customers’.
(b)  Net debt comprises bank and other borrowings, lease liabilities, net derivative financial instruments, joint venture loans and other receivables/payables, offset by cash and cash 

equivalents and short-term investments. It excludes the net debt of Tesco Bank, which has lease liabilities of £35m (2018: £36m).

(c)  Total indebtedness pre-IFRS 16 comprises Net debt plus the IAS 19 deficit in the pension schemes (net of associated deferred tax) plus the present value of future minimum lease 
payments under non-cancellable operating leases. Post-IFRS 16, lease liabilities are included in Net debt, replacing the present value of future minimum lease payments under 
non-cancellable operating leases.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

157

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 36 Changes in accounting policies continued
The table below sets out the expected impact of IFRS 16 on the comparative period income statement for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 
2019 and related APMs. Cost of sales and administrative expenses reduce and finance costs increase as straight line operating lease rental 
expense is replaced by depreciation of the right of use asset and interest on the lease liability. This results in higher gross profit, operating 
profit and operating margin. As the interest expense is front-end loaded and decreases as the lease liability decreases, profit before tax is 
lower in the early stages of a lease and higher in the later stages when compared to a straight-line rental expense. Profit before tax before 
exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles decreases by £152m, whereas profit before tax (which includes the impact of 
exceptional impairment reversals of £56m and the reversal of exceptional onerous lease provision charges of £39m) decreases by £57m.

Income statement restatement for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019

52 weeks ended  
23 February 2019 (reported)

IFRS 16 
impact

52 weeks ended  
23 February 2019 (restated)

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles 
£m

Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles 
£m

Continuing operations
Revenue
Cost of sales
Gross profit/(loss)
Administrative expenses
Profits/(losses) arising on  
property-related items
Operating profit/(loss)
Share of post-tax profits/(losses) of joint 
ventures and associates
Finance income
Finance costs
Profit/(loss) before tax
Taxation

Profit/(loss) for the year

63,911
(59,695)
4,216
(1,989)
(21)

2,206
24

22
(536)
1,716
(413)
1,303

–
(72)
(72)
(86)
105

(53)
11

–
–
(42)
59
17

Earnings/(losses) per share from 
continuing and discontinued 
operations
Basic
Diluted
Earnings/(losses) per share from 
continuing operations
Basic
Diluted
KPIs and APMs
Operating margin
Diluted adjusted EPS

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m

Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles
£m

–
394
394
7
–

401
(3)

3
(553)
(152)
16
(136)

–
95
95
–
–

95
–

–
–
95
(9)
86

Total
£m

63,911
(59,767)
4,144
(2,075)
84

2,153
35

22
(536)
1,674
(354)
1,320

13.65p
13.55p

13.65p
13.55p

3.5%
15.40p

Before 
exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles 
£m

 Exceptional 
items and 
amortisation 
of acquired 
intangibles 
£m

63,911
(59,301)
4,610
(1,982)
(21)

2,607
21

25
(1,089)
1,564
(397)
1,167

–
23
23
(86)
105

42
11

–
–
53
50
103

Total
£m

–
489
489
7
–

496
(3)

3
(553)
(57)
7
(50)

(0.52)p
(0.51)p

(0.52)p
(0.51)p

0.6%
(1.39)p

Total
£m

63,911
(59,278)
4,633
(2,068)
84

2,649
32

25
(1,089)
1,617
(347)
1,270

13.13p
13.04p

13.13p
13.04p

4.1%
14.01p

158

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

The table below sets out the expected impact of IFRS 16 on the comparative period cash flow statement for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 
and related APMs. IFRS 16 has no impact on total cash flow for the year or cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year. Cash generated 
from operations and free cash flow measures increase as operating lease rental expenses are no longer recognised as operating cash 
outflows. Cash outflows are instead split between interest paid and repayments of obligations under leases, which both increase.

Cash flow statement restatement for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019

Retail

Tesco Bank

Tesco Group

Retail 
(reported) 
£m
1,986 

IFRS 16 
impact 
£m
494

Retail 
(restated) 
£m
2,480 

Tesco Bank 
(reported) 
£m
167

IFRS 16 
impact 
£m
2 

Tesco Bank 
(restated) 
£m
169 

Tesco Group 
(reported) 
£m
2,153 

IFRS 16 
impact 
£m
496 

Tesco Group 
(restated) 
 £m
2,649

52 weeks ended 23 February 2019
Operating profit/(loss) of continuing 
operations
Depreciation and amortisation
ATM net income
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of property, 
plant and equipment and intangible 
assets and early termination of leases
(Profit)/loss arising on sale of subsidiaries 
and financial assets at fair value through 
other comprehensive income
Net impairment loss/(reversal) on 
property, plant and equipment, intangible 
assets and investment property
Adjustment for non-cash element of 
pensions charge
Additional contribution into defined 
benefit pension schemes
Share-based payments
Tesco Bank fair value movements 
included in operating profit/(loss)
Cash flows generated from operations 
excluding working capital
(Increase)/decrease in working capital
Cash generated from/(used in) 
operations
Interest paid
Corporation tax (paid)/received
Net cash generated from/(used in) 
operating activities

Proceeds from the sale of property, plant 
and equipment, investment property, 
intangible assets and non-current assets 
classified as held for sale
Purchase of property, plant and 
equipment, investment property and 
non-current assets classified as held 
for sale – store buybacks
Purchase of property, plant and 
equipment, investment property and 
non-current assets classified as held 
for sale – other capital expenditure
Purchase of intangible assets
Disposal of subsidiaries, net of 
cash disposed
Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of 
cash acquired
Net increase/(decrease) in loans to 
joint ventures and associates
Investments in joint ventures and 
associates
Net (investments in)/proceeds from 
sale of short-term investments
Net (investments in)/proceeds from sale 
of financial assets at fair value through 
other comprehensive income
Dividends received from joint ventures 
and associates
Dividends received from Tesco Bank
Interest received
Net cash generated from/(used in) 
investing activities

83 
34 
(8)

– 

– 

– 

– 

(5)
127 

398 

(258)
140

(5)
(68)
67 

1 

– 

1,292 
(34)
(99)

673 
–
(24) 

1,965 
(34)
(123)

(8)

– 

(8)

(58)

(56)

(114)

45

(266)

82 
– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

45 

(266)

82 
– 

2,940 

1,087 

4,027

(438)
2,502

(301)
(302)
1,899

48 
1,135 

(550)
– 
585 

285 

(136)

(962)

(164)
8 

(715)

– 

(11)

639 

2

31 

50 
18 
(955)

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
3 
3 

(390)
3,637

(851)
(302)
2,484

285

(136)

(962)

(3)

(164)
8 

(715)

– 

(11)

639 

2

31 

50 
21 
(952)

(27)
– 

– 

5 

– 

– 

(124)

10 

(50)
– 
(188)

2 
–
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

4 

– 
4 

(3)
– 
1 

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 
– 

85 
34 
(8)

– 

– 

– 

– 

(5)
127

1,375 
– 
(107)

675 
–
(24)

2,050 
–
(131)

(8)

– 

(8)

(58)

(56)

(114)

45

(266)

77 
127

– 

– 

– 
– 

45

(266)

77 
127

402

3,338

1,091 

4,429

(258)
144

(8)
(68)
68

1 

– 

(696)
2,642

(306)
(370)
1,966

286

(136)

(3)

(965)

(27)
– 

– 

5 

– 

– 

(124)

10 

(50)
– 
(188)

(191)
8 

(715)

5 

(11)

639 

(122)

41 

– 
18 
(1,143)

48
1,139

(553)
– 
586 

(648)
3,781

(859)
(370)
2,552

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 
3 
3 

286

(136)

(965)

(191)
8 

(715)

5 

(11)

639 

(122)

41 

– 
21 
(1,140)

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

159

Financial statementsNotes to the Group financial statements continued

Note 36 Changes in accounting policies continued
Cash flow statement restatement for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 continued
Tesco Bank

Retail

Tesco Group

52 weeks ended 23 February 2019
Proceeds from issue of ordinary 
share capital
Own shares purchased
Repayment of obligations under leases

Add: Cash outflow from major 
acquisition
Less: Net increase/(decrease) in loans 
to joint ventures and associates
Less: Net investments in/(proceeds 
from sale of) short-term investments
APM: Free Cash Flow*

Increase in borrowings
Repayment of borrowings
Net cash flows from derivative 
financial instruments
Dividends paid to equity owners
Net cash generated from/(used in) 
financing activities

Intra-Group funding and intercompany 
transactions
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and 
cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the 
beginning of the year
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes
Cash and cash equivalents at the end 
of the year

Retail 
(reported) 
£m
60 

(206)
(17)
747 

– 

(639)

889
704
(2,046)
35

(357)
(1,827)

(14)

(897)

2,755 

15 
1,873 

IFRS 16 
impact 
£m
– 

– 
(588)
– 

– 

– 

– 
– 
– 
– 

– 
(588)

– 

– 

– 

– 
– 

Retail 
(restated) 
£m
60 

Tesco Bank 
(reported) 
£m
– 

IFRS 16 
impact 
£m
– 

Tesco Bank 
(restated) 
£m
– 

Tesco Group 
(reported) 
£m
60 

IFRS 16 
impact 
£m
– 

Tesco Group 
(restated) 
 £m
60 

(206)
(605)
747 

– 

(639)

889 
704
(2,046) 
35

(357)
(2,415)

– 
– 
– 

(5)

– 

(126)
271
(425)
– 

– 
(154)

(14)

14 

(897)

(261)

2,755 

1,304 

15
1,873 

– 
1,043 

– 
(1)
– 

– 

– 

– 
– 
– 
– 

– 
(1)

– 

– 

 –

– 
– 

– 
(1)
– 

(5)

– 

(126)
271
(425)
– 

– 
(155)

(206)
(17)
747 

(5)

(639)

763
975
(2,471)
35

(357)
(1,981)

14 

– 

(261)

(1,158)

1,304 

4,059 

– 
1,043 

15
2,916 

– 
(589)
– 

– 

– 

– 
– 
– 
– 

(206)
(606)
747 

(5)

(639)

763
975
(2,471)
35

–
(589)

(357)
(2,570)

– 

–

– 

– 
–

– 

(1,158) 

4,059 

15 
2,916 

*  Free cash flow has been redefined to include repayments of obligations under leases due to IFRS 16. This results in a minor adjustment of £17m, restating reported retail free cash flow of 

£906m to £889m. There is no overall impact to cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period.

160

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Segmental reporting restatement
The tables below set out the expected comparative period segmental income statement for the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 and 
segmental balance sheet as at 23 February 2019, restated for the impact of IFRS 16. Refer to Note 2 for the reported segmental income 
statement and balance sheet.

Segmental income statement restatement

52 weeks ended 23 February 2019 (restated)  
At actual exchange rates 
Continuing operations
Group sales
Revenue 
Operating	profit/(loss)	before	exceptional	items	and	amortisation	of	
acquired intangibles
Exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Operating profit/(loss)
Operating margin
Share of post-tax profits/(losses) of joint ventures and associates
Finance income
Finance costs
Profit/(loss) before tax

Segmental balance sheet restatement

At 23 February 2019 (restated)
Goodwill and other intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment and investment property
Right of use assets
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Non-current financial assets at fair value through other 
comprehensive income
Non-current trade and other receivables(a)
Non-current loans and advances to customers and banks
Deferred tax assets
Non-current assets(b)

Inventories and current trade and other receivables(c)(d)
Current loans and advances to customers and banks
Current financial assets at fair value through other 
comprehensive income
Total trade and other payables
Total customer deposits and deposits from banks
Total provisions
Deferred tax liabilities
Net current tax
Post-employment benefits
Assets classified as held for sale
Net debt (including Tesco Bank)(e)
Net assets

UK & ROI 
£m
4,927
14,017
6,537
12
3

100
–
86
25,682

2,999
–
–

(7,452)
–
(245)
(15)
(265)
(2,788)
68
(9,060)
8,924

UK & ROI 
£m

44,883
51,643
1,868

81
1,949
3.6%

Central  
Europe
£m
27
2,694
479
1
–

5
–
34
3,240

482
–
–

(800)
–
(27)
(24)
(12)
–
30
(728)
2,161

Central  
Europe
£m

6,030
6,298
221

58
279
3.5%

Asia
£m
284
2,449
682
567
–

14
–
71
4,067

372
–
–

(1,016)
–
(49)
(10)
(11)
(20)
–
(682)
2,651

Tesco  
Bank
£m

Total at actual 
exchange
£m

Asia
£m

4,873
4,873
319

(67)
252
6.5%

1,097
1,097
199

(30)
169
18.1%

56,883
63,911
2,607

42
2,649
4.1%
32
25
(1,089)
1,617

Total
£m
6,264
19,222
7,713
666
979

138
7,868
251
43,101

4,138
4,882
67

(9,496)
(12,128)
(373)
(49)
(319)
(2,808)
98
(13,617)
13,496

Tesco Bank
£m
1,026
62
15
86
976

Unallocated
£m
–
–
–
–
–

19
7,868
60
10,112

285
4,882
67

(228)
(12,128)
(52)
–
(31)
–
–
(413)
2,494

–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(2,734)
(2,734)

(a)  Excludes loans to joint ventures of £105m which form part of net debt.
(b)  Excludes derivative financial instrument non-current assets of £1,178m.
(c)  Excludes net interest and other receivables of £1m which form part of net debt.
(d)  Excludes loans to joint ventures of £28m which form part of net debt.
(e) 

Includes lease liabilities in UK & ROI £9,060m, Central Europe £728m, Asia £682m, Tesco Bank £35m, Unallocated £nil and Total £10,505m.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

161

Financial statementsTesco PLC – Parent Company balance sheet

Non-current assets
Investments
Receivables
Derivative financial instruments

Current assets
Receivables
Short-term investments
Cash and cash equivalents

Current liabilities
Borrowings
Payables
Derivative financial instruments

Net current assets/(liabilities)

Non-current liabilities
Borrowings
Payables
Derivative financial instruments

Net assets
Equity
Share capital
Share premium
All other reserves
Retained earnings (including profit/(loss) for the financial year of £3,074m (2018: £(136)m))
Total equity

The notes on pages 164 to 168 form part of these financial statements.

Dave Lewis 
Alan Stewart

23 February 
2019 
£m

24 February 
2018 
£m

Notes

6
7
12

7
8
9

11
10
12

11
10
12

15

17,887
2,139
1,043
21,069

1,154
11
6
1,171

(766)
(242)
(213)
(1,221)
(50)

(2,536)
(88)
(303)
(2,927)
18,092

490
5,165
2,969
9,468
18,092

13,093
20
952
14,065

6,625
369
793
7,787

(693)
(4,767)
–
(5,460)
2,327

(3,632)
–
(488)
(4,120)
12,272

410
5,107
62
6,693
12,272

Directors
The Parent Company financial statements on pages 162 to 168 were approved and authorised for issue by the Directors on 9 April 2019.

Tesco PLC  
Registered number 00445790

162

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

 
 
 
 
Tesco PLC – Parent Company statement of changes in equity

At 24 February 2018
Adjustment on initial application 
of IFRS 9 (net of tax)
At 25 February 2018
Profit/(loss) for the year
Other comprehensive  
income/(loss)
Gains/(losses) on cash flow hedges
Reclassified and reported in the 
Company income statement
Tax relating to components of  
other comprehensive income
Total other comprehensive 
income/(loss)
Total comprehensive income/(loss)
Transactions with owners
Purchase of own shares
Share-based payments
Issue of shares
Dividends
Total transactions with owners 
At 23 February 2019

At 25 February 2017
Profit/(Loss) for the year
Other comprehensive  
income/(loss)
Gains/(losses) on cash flow hedges
Reclassified and reported in the 
Company income statement
Tax relating to components of  
other comprehensive income
Total other comprehensive 
income/(loss)
Total comprehensive income/(loss)
Transactions with owners
Purchase of own shares
Share-based payments
Issue of shares
Dividends
Total transactions with owners 
At 24 February 2018

Share  
capital 
£m
410
–

410
–

Share 
premium 
£m
5,107
–

5,107
–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
80
–
80
490

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
58
–
58
5,165

All other reserves

Currency  
basis
reserve*
£m
–
(13)

Capital 
redemption 
reserve 
£m
16
–

Hedging  
reserve 
£m
62
13

Own shares 
held 
£m
(16)
–

Merger 
reserve
£m
–
–

(13)
–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
(13)

16
–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
16

75
–

38
(13)

(5)

20

20

–
–
–
–
–
95

(16)
–

–
–

–

–

–

(277)
114
–
–
(163)
(179)

All other reserves

Share  
capital 
£m
409
–

Share 
premium 
£m
5,096
–

Currency  
basis
reserve*
£m
–
–

Capital 
redemption 
reserve 
£m
16
–

Hedging  
reserve 
£m
168
–

Own shares 
held
£m
(22)
–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
1
–
1
410

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
11
–
11
5,107

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
16

(5)
(127)

26

(106)

(106)

–
–
–
–
–
62

–
–

–

–

–

(14)
20
–
–
6
(16)

Retained 
earnings 
£m
6,693
(5)

6,688
3,074

–
–

–

–

Total  
equity 
£m
12,272
(5)

12,267
3,074

38
(13)

(5)

20

3,074

3,094

–
63
–
(357)
(294)
9,468

Retained 
earnings 
£m
6,795
(136)

–
–

–

–

(277)
177
3,188
(357)
2,731
18,092

Total  
equity 
£m
12,462
(136)

(5)
(127)

26

(106)

(136)

(242)

–
114
–
(80)
34
6,693

(14)
134
12
(80)
52
12,272

–
–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
3,050
–
3,050
3,050

Merger 
reserve
£m
–
–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–

* 

‘Currency basis reserve’ was previously titled ‘Other reserves’.

The notes on pages 164 to 168 form part of these financial statements.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

163

Financial statementsNotes to the Parent Company financial statements

Note 1 Authorisation of financial statements and 
statement of compliance with FRS 101
The Parent Company financial statements for the 52 weeks ended 
23 February 2019 were approved by the Board of Directors on 
9 April 2019 and the Company balance sheet was signed on the 
Board’s behalf by Dave Lewis and Alan Stewart.

These financial statements were prepared in accordance with 
Financial Reporting Standard 101, ‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’ 
(FRS 101). The Company meets the definition of a qualifying entity 
under FRS 100, ‘Application of Financial Reporting Requirements’ 
as issued by the Financial Reporting Council.

The Company’s financial statements are presented in Pounds 
Sterling, its functional currency, generally rounded to the 
nearest million.

The principal accounting policies adopted by the Company are set 
out in Note 2. The financial statements have been prepared under 
the historical cost convention, except for certain financial 
instruments and share-based payments that have been 
measured at fair value.

Note 2 Accounting policies
Basis of preparation of financial statements
The Parent Company financial statements have been prepared in 
accordance with FRS 101 and the Companies Act 2006 (the Act). 

FRS 101 sets out a reduced disclosure framework for a ‘qualifying 
entity’ as defined in the standard which addresses the financial 
reporting requirements and disclosure exemptions in the individual 
financial statements of qualifying entities that otherwise apply the 
recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements of 
EU-adopted IFRS.

The financial year represents the 52 weeks to 23 February 2019 
(prior financial year 52 weeks to 24 February 2018).

As permitted by FRS 101, the Company has taken advantage of the 
disclosure exemptions available under that standard in relation to 
business combinations, financial instruments, capital management, 
presentation of comparative information in respect of certain 
assets, presentation of a cash flow statement, impairment of 
assets, share-based payments and related party transactions. 
Where required, equivalent disclosures are given in the 
consolidated financial statements of Tesco PLC.

The Parent Company financial statements are prepared on a going 
concern basis as set out in Note 1 of the consolidated financial 
statements of Tesco PLC.

The Directors have taken advantage of the exemption available 
under Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and not presented 
an income statement or a statement of comprehensive income 
for the Company alone.

A summary of the Company’s significant accounting policies is set 
out below.

Short-term investments
Short-term investments are recognised initially at fair value, and 
subsequently at amortised cost. All income from these investments 
is included in the income statement as interest receivable and 
similar income.

Investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures
Investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures are stated at 
cost less, where appropriate, provisions for impairment.

Foreign currencies
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated to the 
functional currency at the exchange rate on the date of the 
transaction. At each balance sheet date, monetary assets and 
liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are 
retranslated to the functional currency at the rates prevailing 
on the balance sheet date.

Share-based payments
The fair value of employee share option plans is calculated at 
the grant date using the Black-Scholes or Monte Carlo model. 
The resulting cost is charged to the income statement over the 
vesting period. The value of the charge is adjusted to reflect 
expected and actual levels of vesting. Where the Company 
awards shares or options to employees of subsidiary entities, 
this is treated as a capital contribution.

Financial instruments
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the 
Company balance sheet when the Company becomes party to 
the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Receivables
Receivables are recognised initially at fair value, and subsequently 
at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method, less 
provision for impairment.

Financial liabilities and equity instruments 
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according 
to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. 
An equity instrument is any contract that gives a residual interest 
in the assets of the Company after deducting all of its liabilities. 
Equity instruments issued by the Company are recorded as the 
proceeds received, net of direct issue costs.

Interest-bearing borrowings
Interest-bearing bank loans and overdrafts are initially 
recognised at fair value, net of attributable transaction costs. 
Subsequent to initial recognition, interest-bearing borrowings 
are stated at amortised cost with any differences between 
proceeds and redemption value being recognised in the 
Company income statement over the period of the 
borrowings on an effective interest basis. 

Payables
Payables are recognised initially at fair value, and subsequently 
at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method.

Derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting
The Company uses derivative financial instruments to hedge its 
exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risks arising from 
operating, financing and investing activities. The Company does not 
hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading purposes; 
however if derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting they are 
accounted for as such.

Derivative financial instruments are recognised and stated at fair 
value. Where derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting, any 
gains or losses on remeasurement are immediately recognised in 
the Company income statement. Where derivatives qualify for 
hedge accounting, recognition of any resultant gain or loss depends 
on the nature of the hedge relationship and the item being hedged. 
In order to qualify for hedge accounting, the Company is required 
to document from inception, the relationship between the item 
being hedged and the hedging instrument.

The Company is also required to document and demonstrate an 
assessment of the relationship between the hedged item and the 
hedging instrument, which shows that the hedge will be highly 
effective on an ongoing basis. This effectiveness testing is 
performed at each reporting date to ensure that the hedge 
remains highly effective.

Derivative financial instruments with maturity dates of more than 
one year from the balance sheet date are disclosed as non-current.

Fair value hedging
Derivative financial instruments are classified as fair value hedges 
when they hedge the Company’s exposure to changes in the fair 
value of a recognised asset or liability. Changes in the fair value of 
derivatives that are designated and qualify as fair value hedges are 
recorded in the Company income statement, together with any 
changes in the fair value of the hedged item that is attributable 
to the hedged risk.

164

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Cash flow hedging
Derivative financial instruments are classified as cash flow hedges 
when they hedge the Company’s exposure to variability in cash 
flows that are either attributable to a particular risk associated 
with a recognised asset or liability, or a highly probable forecasted 
transaction. The effective element of any gain or loss from 
remeasuring the derivative instrument is recognised directly in 
the Company statement of comprehensive income.

The associated cumulative gain or loss is reclassified from other 
comprehensive income and recognised in the Company income 
statement in the same period or periods during which the 
hedged transaction affects the Company income statement. 
The classification of the effective portion when recognised in 
the Company income statement is the same as the classification 
of the hedged transaction. Any element of the remeasurement 
criteria of the derivative instrument which does not meet the 
criteria for an effective hedge is recognised immediately in the 
Company income statement within finance income or costs.

Hedge accounting is discontinued when the hedging instrument 
expires or is sold, terminated or exercised, or if a voluntary 
de-designation takes place or no longer qualifies for hedge 
accounting. At that point in time, any cumulative gain or loss on 
the hedging instrument recognised in equity is retained in the 
Company statement of changes in equity until the forecasted 
transaction occurs or the original hedged item affects the 
Company income statement. If a forecast hedged transaction 
is no longer expected to occur, the net cumulative gain or loss 
recognised in the Company statement of changes in equity is 
reclassified to the Company income statement.

Pensions
The Company participates in defined benefit pension schemes. 
There are no formal policies or contractual agreements for 
recharging within the Group and the Company cannot identify 
its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the schemes. 
Accordingly, as permitted by IAS 19 ‘Employee Benefits’, the 
Company has accounted for the schemes as defined contribution 
schemes, and the charge for the financial year is based upon the 
cash contributions payable.

The Company also participates in a defined contribution scheme 
open to all UK employees. Payments to this scheme are recognised 
as an expense as they fall due.

Taxation
The tax expense included in the Company income statement 
consists of current and deferred tax.

Current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income for 
the financial year, using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted 
by the balance sheet date. Tax expense is recognised in the 
Company income statement except to the extent that it relates 
to items recognised in the Company statement of comprehensive 
income or directly in the Company statement of changes in equity, 
in which case it is recognised in the Company statement of 
comprehensive income or directly in the Company statement of 
changes in equity, respectively.

Deferred tax is provided using the balance sheet liability method, 
providing for temporary differences between the carrying amounts 
of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the 
amounts used for taxation purposes.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to 
apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset realised 
based on the tax rates that have been enacted or substantively 
enacted by the balance sheet date. Deferred tax is charged or 
credited in the Company income statement, except when it 
relates to items charged or credited directly to equity or other 
comprehensive income, in which case the deferred tax is also 
recognised in equity, or other comprehensive income, respectively.

Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable 
that taxable profits will be available against which deductible 
temporary differences can be utilised.

The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each 
balance sheet date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer 
probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all 
or part of the assets to be recovered.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset against each other 
when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current taxation 
assets against current taxation liabilities and it is the intention to 
settle these on a net basis.

Judgements and sources of estimation uncertainty
The preparation of the Company financial statements requires 
management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions 
in applying the Company’s accounting policies to determine the 
reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. 
The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical 
experience and various other factors that are believed to be 
reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ 
from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions 
are reviewed on an ongoing basis, with revisions to accounting 
estimates applied prospectively.

The preparation of the Company financial statements for the 
financial year did not require the exercise of any critical 
accounting judgements or significant estimates.

New standards effective for the current financial year
IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’
IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ replaced IAS 39 ‘Financial 
Instruments: Recognition and Measurement’ with the exception 
of macro hedge accounting. 

The following changes arose from the transition to IFRS 9:

 – Classification and measurement: All financial instruments 

classified as loans and receivables under IAS 39 are classified 
and measured at amortised cost under IFRS 9.

 – Impairment: The impairment requirements of IFRS 9 require 
expected credit losses to be applied to amounts owed by 
related undertakings and by joint ventures and associates. 

 – Hedge accounting: All existing hedge relationships for the 

company have transitioned to IFRS 9 on adoption.

IFRS 15 ‘Revenues from Contracts with Customers’
This standard has not had a material impact on the Company.

Standards issued but not yet effective
IFRS 16 ‘Leases’
This standard is not expected to have a material impact on 
the Company.

Other standards and amendments
Refer to Note 1 to the Group financial statements. 

Note 3 Auditor remuneration
Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of the 
Company and Group financial statements are disclosed in 
Note 3 to the Group financial statements.

Note 4 Dividends
For details of dividends see Note 8 to the Group financial 
statements.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

165

Financial statementsNotes to the Parent Company financial statements continued

Note 5 Employment costs, including Directors’ remuneration

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs
Share-based payment expense

Notes

14
13

2019
£m
17
3
4
7
31

The amounts above include recharges from other Group companies for Tesco PLC related activities.

The average number of employees (all Directors of the Company) during the financial year was 13 (2018: 11).

The Schedule 5 requirements of SI 2008/410 for Directors’ remuneration are included within the Directors’ Remuneration Report  
on pages 62 to 79.

Note 6 Investments

Cost
At 24 February 2018
Additions
Disposals
At 23 February 2019
Impairment
At 24 February 2018
Impairment
Disposals 
At 23 February 2019

Net carrying value
At 23 February 2019
At 24 February 2018

The list of the Company’s subsidiary undertakings and joint ventures is shown on pages 169 to 173. 

Note 7 Receivables

Amounts owed by Group undertakings*
Amounts owed by joint ventures and associates
Other receivables

Of which:
Current
Non-current

2019
£m
3,232
21
40
3,293

1,154
2,139
3,293

2018 
£m
14
2
4
7
27

Total 
£m

16,632
5,102
(451)
21,283

(3,539)
(290)
433
(3,396)

17,887
13,093

2018 
£m
6,598
20
27
6,645

6,625
20
6,645

*  Amounts owed by Group undertakings are either interest-bearing or non interest-bearing depending on the type and duration of the receivable relationship, with interest rates ranging 

from 0% to 3%, with maturities up to and including March 2025.

Note 8 Short-term investments

Money market funds

Note 9 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents

2019
£m
11

2019
£m
6

2018 
£m
369

2018 
£m
793

Included in cash and cash equivalents is an amount of £nil (2018: £777m) that was set aside at the balance sheet date for completion of the 
merger with Booker Group PLC. This cash was invested at a floating rate of interest, held in ring-fenced accounts and was not available to the 
Group. The merger was completed on 5 March 2018, with £766m being paid on completion. Refer to Note 31 to the Group financial statements 
for further details on the Booker merger.

166

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Note 10 Payables

Amounts owed to Group undertakings(a)
Other payables
Taxation and social security
Accruals and deferred income
Deferred tax liability(b)
Total payables
Of which:
Current
Non-current

2019
£m
299
11
3
–
17
330

242
88
330

2018 
£m
4,707
43
3
6
8
4,767

4,767
–
4,767

(a)  Amounts owed to Group undertakings are either interest-bearing or non interest-bearing depending on the type and duration of the creditor relationship, with interest rates ranging from 

0% to 3%, with maturities up to and including February 2051.

(b)  The deferred tax asset/(liability) recognised by the Company, and the movements thereon, during the current financial year are as follows:

At 24 February 2018
Charge to the income statement for prior years
Movement in other comprehensive income for the year
At 23 February 2019

Note 11 Borrowings
Current

Bank loans and overdrafts
3.375% MTN
5.5% MTN(a)

Non-current

5.5% MTN(a)
6.125% MTN(a)
5% MTN(a)
3.322% LPI MTN(b) 
6% MTN(a)
5.5% MTN(a)
1.982% RPI MTN(c)
6.15% USD Bond(a)
4.875% MTN(a)
5.125% MTN
5.2% MTN(a)

Financial 
instruments 
£m
(12)
–
(5)
(17)

Other timing 
differences 
£m
4
(4)
–
–

Par value
–
€750m
£97m

Par value
£97m
£531m
£171m
£346m
£98m
£150m
£286m
$525m
£32m
€356m
£73m

Maturity
–
Nov 2018
Dec 2019

Maturity
Dec 2019
Feb 2022
Mar 2023
Nov 2025
Dec 2029
Jan 2033
Mar 2036
Nov 2037
Mar 2042
Apr 2047
Mar 2057

2019
£m
668
–
98
766

2019
£m
–
561
183
349
119
186
288
428
32
319
71
2,536

Total  
£m
(8)
(4)
(5)
(17)

2018
£m
26
667
–
693

2018
£m
183
952
254
338
198
221
279
616
103
323
165
3,632

(a)  During the current financial year, the Group undertook a tender for outstanding bonds and as a result the following notional amounts were repaid early: 5.5% MTN Dec 2019 £84m, 6.125% MTN 
Feb 2022 £369m, 5% MTN Mar 2023 £67m, 6% MTN Dec 2029 £61m, 5.5% MTN Jan 2033 £26m, 6.15% USD Bond Nov 2037 $325m, 4.875% MTN Mar 2042 £70m and 5.2% MTN Mar 2057 £95m. 
(b)  The 3.322% Limited Price Inflation (LPI) MTN is redeemable at par, indexed for increases in the RPI over the life of the MTN. The maximum indexation of the principal in any one year is 5%, 

with a minimum of 0%.

(c)  The 1.982% RPI MTN is redeemable at par, indexed for increases in the RPI over the life of the MTN. 

Note 12 Derivative financial instruments
The fair values of derivative financial instruments have been presented in the Company balance sheet as:

Current
Non-current
Total derivative financial instruments

Fair value hedges
Interest rate swaps and similar instruments
Cross-currency swaps
Cash flow hedges
Cross-currency swaps
Index-linked swaps
Derivatives not in a formal hedge relationship
Index-linked swaps
Total

2019

Asset 
£m
–
1,043
1,043

Liability 
£m
(213)
(303)
(516)

2018

Asset 
£m
–
952
952

Liability 
£m
–
(488)
(488)

2019

2018

Asset

Liability

Asset

Liability

Fair value
£m

Notional
£m

Fair value
£m

Notional
£m

Fair value
£m

Notional
£m

Fair value
£m

Notional
£m

11
126

138
170

65
180

309
632

–
(10)

–
–

–
222

–
–

598
1,043

3,339
4,525

(506)
(516)

3,339
3,561

12
128

129
140

543
952

65
401

313
612

–
(52)

–
–

–
207

–
–

3,339
4,730

(436)
(488)

3,339
3,546

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

167

Financial statementsNotes to the Parent Company financial statements continued

Note 13 Share-based payments
The Company’s equity-settled share-based payment schemes comprise various share schemes designed to reward Executive Directors.  
For further information on these schemes, including the valuation models and assumptions used, refer to Note 26 to the Group financial statements.

Share option schemes 
The number of options and weighted average exercise price (WAEP) of share option schemes relating to the Company employees are:

For the 52 weeks ended 23 February 2019

Outstanding at 24 February 2018
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised
Outstanding at 23 February 2019
Exercise price range (pence)
Weighted average remaining contractual life (years)
Exercisable at 23 February 2019
Exercise price range (pence)
Weighted average remaining contractual life (years)

For the 52 weeks ended 24 February 2018

Outstanding at 25 February 2017
Granted
Forfeited
Exercised
Outstanding at 24 February 2018
Exercise price range (pence)
Weighted average remaining contractual life (years)
Exercisable at 24 February 2018
Exercise price range (pence)
Weighted average remaining contractual life (years)

Savings-related
Share Option Scheme

Nil cost
share options

Options
23,840
19,148
–
(23,840)
19,148

–

Options
14,271,355
200,518
(1,704,300)
(23,840)
12,743,733

3,837,740

WAEP
151.00
188.00
–
151.00
188.00
188.00
3.03
–
–
–

Savings-related
Share Option Scheme

Nil cost
share options

Options
23,840
–
–
–
23,840

–

Options
10,548,558
4,031,340
(308,543)
–
14,271,355

2,989,805

WAEP
151.00
–
–
–
151.00
151.00
1.44
–
–
–

WAEP
–
–
–
–
–
–
7.18
–
–
6.00

WAEP
–
–
–
–
–
–
8.00
–
–
7.06

Share bonus and incentive schemes
Executive Directors participate in the Group Bonus Plan, a performance-related bonus scheme. The amount paid is based on a percentage 
of salary and is paid partly in cash and partly in shares. Bonuses are awarded to Executive Directors who have completed a required service 
period and depend on the achievement of the corporate and individual performance targets. For further information on these schemes, 
including the valuation models and assumptions used, refer to Note 26 to the Group financial statements.

The number of share bonuses awarded during the financial year were 739,293 (2018: nil) for Group Bonus Plan and 2,071,068 (2018: nil) for 
Performance Share Plan. Respectively weighted average fair value (WAFV) was 241.8p (2018: £nil) and 254.8p (2018: £nil). 

Note 14 Pensions
The total cost of participation in the Tesco Retirement Savings Plan (a defined contribution scheme) to the Company was £4.4m (2018: £4.4m). 
Further disclosure relating to all schemes can be found in Note 27 to the Group financial statements.

Note 15 Called up share capital
Refer to Note 28 of the Group financial statements.

Note 16 Contingent liabilities
In addition to the contingent liabilities shown in Note 32 to the Group financial statements, the Company has entered into financial guarantee 
contracts to guarantee the indebtedness of Group undertakings amounting to £1,715m (2018: £2,201m). It has also guaranteed derivative 
agreements of Group undertakings with a gross liability of £162m (2018: £217m) at the reporting date. These guarantees are treated as 
contingent liabilities until it becomes probable they will be called upon.

In addition, the Company has guaranteed the rental payments of certain Group undertakings relating to a portfolio of retail stores, distribution 
centres and mixed use retail developments.

The likelihood of the above items being called upon is considered remote.

Note 17 Events after the reporting period
No material events occurred after the year-end date of 23 February 2019 and before the signing of the Company’s financial statements.

168

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Related undertakings of the Tesco Group

In accordance with Section 409 of the Companies Act 2006 and Schedule 4 of The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups 
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, a full list of related undertakings, registered office address and the percentage of share class 
owned as at 23 February 2019 are disclosed below. Changes to the list of related undertakings since the year-end date are detailed in the 
footnotes below. All undertakings are indirectly owned by Tesco PLC unless otherwise stated.
Subsidiary undertakings incorporated in the United Kingdom.

Name of  
undertaking

Acklam Management Company 
Limited

Adminstore Limited

Adsega Limited†

Alfred Preedy & Sons Limited

Armitage Finance Unlimited

Bath Upper Bristol Road 
Management Company Limited

Berry Lane Management Company 
Limited

BF Limited 

Bishop’s Group Limited

Booker Cash & Carry Limited 

Booker Direct Limited 

Booker EBT Limited 

Booker Group Limited 

Booker Limited 

Booker Retail Partners (GB) Limited 

Booker Retail Limited 

Booker Wholesale Holdings Limited 

Broughton Retail Park Nominee 1 
Limited

Broughton Retail Park Nominee 2 
Limited

Broughton Retail Park Nominee 3 
Limited

Broughton Retail Park Nominee 4 
Limited

Budgen Holdings Limited 

Budgens Pension Trustees No.2 
Limited 

Budgens Property Investments 
Limited 

Budgens Stores Limited 

Buttoncable Limited

Buttoncase Limited+

Canterbury Road Management 
Limited

Cardiff Cathays Terrace 
Management Company Limited

Comar Limited†

Cullen’s Holdings Limited

Cullen’s Stores Limited

Day and Nite Stores Limited 

Dillons Newsagents Limited

dunnhumby Advertising Limited

dunnhumby Holding Limited

dunnhumby International Limited

dunnhumby Limited

dunnhumby Overseas Limited

dunnhumby Trustees Limited

Europa Foods Limited

Faraday Properties Limited

Giant Bidco Limited 

Giant Booker Limited

Giant Midco Limited

Gibbs News Limited

Highams Green Management 
Company Limited

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

Name of  
undertaking

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

1

1

1

2

1

1

1

38

38

38

38

38

38

38

38

38

38

1

1

1

1

38

38

38

38

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

2

5

5

5

5

5

5

1

6

38

38

38

2

1

Limited by Guarantee

£0.01 A Ordinary

£0.01 B Ordinary

£0.01 C Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Deferred

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.90 Ordinary

Limited by Guarantee

Limited by Guarantee

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.01 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.01 Ordinary

£0.01 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.01 Ordinary

£0.01 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Cumulative 
Redeemable Preference

£1.00 Ordinary

Limited by Guarantee

Limited by Guarantee

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.10 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Cumulative 
Convertible Participating 
Preferred Ordinary

£1.00 Cumulative 
Redeemable Preference

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.25 Non-Voting 
Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£3.59 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.25 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

Limited by Guarantee

–

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

–

–

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

–

–

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

–

IRTH (15) Limited 

IRTH (19) Limited

KSS Retail Limited

Launchgrain Limited†

Linnco Limited 

Londis (Holdings) Limited

Londis Pension Trustees Limited 

M & W Limited

Makro Holding Limited 

Makro Properties Limited 

Makro Self Service Wholesalers 
Limited 

Motorcause Limited

Murdoch Norton Limited 

NutriCentre Limited

Oakwood Distribution Limited

One Stop Community Stores Limited

One Stop Convenience Stores 
Limited

One Stop Stores Limited†(a)

One Stop Stores Trustee Services 
Limited

Orpington (Station Road) Limited

Oxford Fox and Hounds Management 
Company Limited

Paper Chain (East Anglia) Limited 

PTLL Limited

38

38

5

1

38

38

38

2

38

38

38

1

38

1

1

2

2

2

2

1

1

2

1

Ritter-Courivaud Limited 

38

Seacroft Green Nominee 1 Limited

Seacroft Green Nominee 2 Limited 

Spen Hill Developments Limited

Spen Hill Management Limited†(b)

Spen Hill Properties (Holdings) plc†

Spen Hill Regeneration Limited

Spen Hill Residential No 1 Limited

Spen Hill Residential No 2 Limited

Station House Welling Management 
Limited

Statusfloat Limited

Stewarts Supermarkets Limited†

T & S Stores Limited†

Tapesilver Limited†

Teesport (GP) Limited

Tesco (Overseas) Limited†

Tesco Aqua (3LP) Limited

Tesco Aqua (FinCo1) Limited

Tesco Aqua (FinCo2) Limited

Tesco Aqua (GP) Limited

Tesco Aqua (Nominee 1) Limited

Tesco Aqua (Nominee 2) Limited

Tesco Aqua (Nominee Holdco) 
Limited

Tesco Atrato (1LP) Limited

Tesco Blue (3LP) Limited

Tesco Blue (FinCo2) Limited

Tesco Blue (GP) Limited

Tesco Blue (Nominee 1) Limited

Tesco Blue (Nominee 2) Limited

Tesco Blue (Nominee Holdco) 
Limited

Tesco Corporate Treasury Services 
PLC†

Tesco Depot Propco Limited

Tesco Distribution Holdings Limited

Tesco Distribution Limited

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.001 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£50.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.10 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary A

£1.00 Ordinary B

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.05 Ordinary

£0.10 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

Limited by Guarantee

£1.00 Deferred

US$0.001 Ordinary 

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.10 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

Limited by Guarantee

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.05 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 B Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 B Ordinary(c)

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

–

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

–

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

169

Financial statementsRelated undertakings of the Tesco Group continued

Name of  
undertaking

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

Name of  
undertaking

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

Tesco Dorney (1LP) Limited

Tesco Employees’ Share Scheme 
Trustees Limited†(d)

Tesco Family Dining Limited

Tesco Food Sourcing Limited

Tesco Freetime Limited

Tesco (3LP) Limited

Tesco Gateshead Property Limited

Tesco Holdings Limited†

Tesco International Internet Retailing 
Limited†

Tesco International Services Limited†

Tesco Lagoon GP Limited

Tesco Maintenance Limited

Tesco Mobile Communications 
Limited†

Tesco Mobile Services Limited

Tesco Navona (1LP) Limited

Tesco Navona (GP) Limited

Tesco Navona (Nominee 1) Limited

Tesco Navona (Nominee 2) Limited

Tesco Navona (Nominee Holdco) 
Limited

Tesco Navona PL Propco Limited

Tesco Overseas Investments 
Limited†

Tesco Overseas ULC

Tesco Passaic (1LP) Limited

Tesco Passaic (GP) Limited

Tesco Passaic (Nominee 1) Limited

Tesco Passaic (Nominee 2) Limited

Tesco Passaic (Nominee Holdco) 
Limited

Tesco Passaic PL Propco Limited

Tesco PEG Limited

Tesco PENL Limited

Tesco Pension Investment Limited(c)

Tesco Pension Trustees Limited†(e)

Tesco Personal Finance Group PLC†

Tesco Personal Finance PLC

Tesco Property (Nominees) (No.1) 
Limited

Tesco Property (Nominees) (No.2) 
Limited

Tesco Property (Nominees) Limited

Tesco Property Finance 1 Holdco 
Limited

Tesco Property Finance 1 PLC

Tesco Property Holdings (No.2) 
Limited

Tesco Property Holdings Limited

Tesco Property Nominees (No.5) 
Limited

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

6

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

10

10

11

11

11

1

1

1

1

1

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.10 Ordinary

£1.00 Preference

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary A

£1.00 Ordinary B(c)

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.00000025 A Ordinary

£0.00000025 B Ordinary 

£0.00000025 C Ordinary

£0.00000025 D Ordinary

£0.00000025 E Ordinary

£0.00000025 F Ordinary

£0.00000025 G Ordinary

£0.00000025 H Ordinary

£0.00000025 J Ordinary

£0.00000025 K Ordinary

£0.00000025 L Ordinary

£0.00000025 M 
Ordinary

£0.00000025 N Ordinary

£0.00000025 O 
Ordinary

£0.00000025 P Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary 

£1.00 Ordinary A

£1.00 Ordinary B(c)

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.01 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.10 A Ordinary

£0.10 B Ordinary

£0.10 C Ordinary

£0.10 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Tesco Property Nominees (No.6) 
Limited

Tesco Property Partner (GP) Limited

Tesco Property Partner (No.1) 
Limited†

Tesco Property Partner (No.2) 
Limited†

Tesco Red (3LP) Limited

Tesco Red (GP) Limited

Tesco Red (Nominee 1) Limited

Tesco Red (Nominee 2) Limited

Tesco Red (Nominee Holdco) Limited

Tesco Sarum (1LP) Limited

Tesco Seacroft Limited

Tesco Secretaries Limited

Tesco Services Limited

Tesco Stores Limited

Tesco TLB Finance Limited

Tesco TLB Properties Limited

Tesco Treasury Services PLC†

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

The Big Food Group Limited

38

The Teesport Limited Partnership

The Tesco Aqua Limited Partnership

The Tesco Blue Limited Partnership

The Tesco Navona Limited 
Partnership

The Tesco Passaic Limited 
Partnership

The Tesco Property Limited 
Partnership

The Tesco Red Limited Partnership

TPI Fund Managers Limited

TPT Holdco No.1 Limited

Ventnor High Street Management 
Company Limited

Weymouth Avenue (Dorchester) 
Limited

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 B Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 B Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Preference

£1.00 B Preference

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary A

£1.00 Ordinary B

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.10 Ordinary

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

Limited by Guarantee

£1.00 Ordinary

Wm. Low Supermarkets Limited

6

£1.00 Ordinary

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

–

100

100

International subsidiary undertakings.

Name of  
undertaking

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

Arena (Jersey) Management Limited†

Booker Cyprus Limited 

Booker India Private Limited 

Booker Satnam Wholesale Private 
Limited 

Cheshunt Holdings Guernsey Limited†

Cheshunt Hungary Servicing Limited 
Liability Company

China Property Holdings (HK) Limited

Chirac Limited

Cirrus Finance (2009) Limited

Cirrus Finance Limited

Clondalkin Properties Limited

Commercial Investments Limited

Crest Ostrava a.s

Delamare Holdings B.V.

Department store Pardubice s.r.o.

dunnhumby (Korea) Limited

dunnhumby (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd

dunnhumby (Thailand) Limited

dunnhumby Advertising (Shanghai) 
Co., Ltd

dunnhumby Australia PTY Limited

dunnhumby Brasil Consultora Ltda

dunnhumby Canada Limited

dunnhumby Chile SpA

87

91

88

88

18

22

20

24

24

24

24

24

16

30

16

62

64

69

83

94

53

37

95

£1.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

INR 10.00 Ordinary

INR 1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

HUF 100,000 Quota

HKD 1.00 Ordinary

€1.25 Ordinary

£1,000 A Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

£1,000 Ordinary

€1.25 Ordinary

€1.25 Ordinary

CZK 100,000 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

CZK 100,000 Ordinary

KRW 5,000 Ordinary

RM 1.00 Ordinary

THB 1,000,000 Ordinary

€130,000 Registered 
Capital

AUD 100 Ordinary

BRL$1.00 Ordinary

CA$ 1.00 Ordinary

CLP 500,000 Ordinary

100

100

100

87

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

170

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Name of  
undertaking

dunnhumby Colombia S.A.S.

dunnhumby Computer Information 
Technology and Consultancy Services 
LLC

dunnhumby Consulting Canada 
Limited

dunnhumby Consulting Services India 
Private Limited

dunnhumby Czech s.r.o.

dunnhumby Finland Oy

dunnhumby France SAS

dunnhumby Germany GmbH

dunnhumby Hungary Kft

dunnhumby Inc.

dunnhumby Information Technology 
Consulting (Shanghai) Company Limited

dunnhumby Ireland Limited

dunnhumby IT Services India Private 
Limited

dunnhumby Italia Srl.

dunnhumby Japan K.K

dunnhumby Mexico S. de R.L.  
de C.V.

dunnhumby Netherlands B.V. 

dunnhumby New Zealand 

dunnhumby Poland Sp. z o.o.

dunnhumby Russia LLC

dunnhumby Singapore Pte Ltd

dunnhumby SARL

dunnhumby Serviços de Promoção 
Digital Ltda

dunnhumby Slovakia s.r.o.

dunnhumby Sp. z o.o.

dunnhumby Spain S.L

dunnhumby South Africa (Pty) Ltd

dunnhumby Ventures LLC

Edson Investments Limited

Edson Properties Limited

Ek-Chai Distribution System  
Co., Ltd.*

ELH Insurance Limited

Genesis sp. z o.o.

J.Smylie & Sons (IOM) Limited 

Jasper Sp. z o.o.

Kabaty Investments Tesco (Polska) 
Sp. z o.o. Sp.k

Letňany Development land 1 s.r.o.

Letňany Development land 2 s.r.o.

Marine Coffee Company Holdings 
Limited

Monread Developments Limited

Nabola Development Limited

Orpingford Unlimited Company

PEJ Property Developments Limited

Pharaway Properties Limited

R.J.D. Holdings Unlimited Company

Saneyia Limited 

Seberov site s.r.o.

Sociomantic Labs Inc

Sociomantic Labs Internet Hizmetleri 
Limited Şireketi

Sociomantic Labs Private Limited

Tesco (Polska) Sp. z o.o.

Tesco Akadémia Képzési és 
Fejlesztési Korátolt Felelősségű 
Társaság

Tesco Angel Fundation

Tesco Bengaluru Private Limited

Tesco Capital No. 1 Limited†

52

54

55

56

16

70

57

72

22

35

58

63

59

60

61

65

77

96

32

79

80

75

73

67

78

8

68

71

24

24

34

19

32

92

32

32

16

16

25

24

24

24

24

24

24

91 

16

35

82

76

32

22

22

23

28

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

Name of  
undertaking

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

COP 2,000 Type A 
COP 41.00 Type B 
COP 1.00 Type C

100

Tesco Capital No. 2 Limited

TL 25.00 Ordinary

100

Tesco Chile Sourcing Limitada

Tesco Digital Ventures Pte Ltd

Tesco Dystrybucja Sp. z o.o.

Tesco Europe B.V.

Tesco Food Sourcing Brazil 
Consultoria De Negoçios Ltda.

Tesco Foundation (Nadacia Tesco)

Tesco Franchise Stores ČR s.r.o.

Tesco-Global Stores Privately Held 
Company Limited

Tesco Global Employment Company 
Limited

Tesco Guangdong (HK) Co. Limited

Tesco Holdings B.V.

Tesco International Clothing Brand 
s.r.o.

Tesco International Franchising s.r.o.

Tesco International Sourcing Limited

Tesco Ireland Holdings Limited

Tesco Ireland Limited 

Tesco Ireland Pension Trustees 
Limited

Tesco Joint Buying Service (Shanghai) 
Co., Limited

Tesco Mobile (Thailand) Co. Limited

Tesco Mobile Ireland Limited

Tesco Property (No. 1) Limited

Tesco Property Limited

Tesco Sourcing India Private Limited 

Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd*

CAD$0.01 Ordinary

INR 10.00 Ordinary

CZK 200,000 Ordinary

100 Kovellinum Oy

€2.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

Registered capital HUF 
3,000,000

No par value 

Registered capital 
US$140,000

€1.00 Ordinary

INR 10.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

JPY 10,000 Ordinary

MXN 2,970 Ordinary A 
MXN 30.00 Ordinary B

€1.00 Ordinary

NZD 100.00 Ordinary

PLN 50,000 Ordinary

RUB 1.00 Ordinary

SGD 1.00 Ordinary

€100.00 Ordinary

R$1.00 Ordinary

No shares in issue

PLN 50.00 Ordinary

 €1.00 Ordinary

No par value Ordinary

–

€2.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

-

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

–

100

100

100

-

100

100

28

13

33

32

30

12

51

16 

22

34

20

30

51

51

20

24

24

24

14

34

24

28

15

84

42

£0.01 Floating Rate 
Redeemable Preference†

£1.00 Ordinary

CLP 1.00 Ordinary

US$ 1.00 Ordinary

SGD 1.00 Ordinary

PLN 50.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

BRL 1.00 Ordinary

No par value basic capital

CZK 2,000,000 Ordinary

HUF 10.00 Common

THB 100.00 Ordinary

US$ 1.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary 

€1.00 Ordinary 

HKD 10.00 Ordinary

€1.25 Ordinary

€1.25 Ordinary

€1.25 Ordinary

US$ 1.00 Ordinary

THB 100.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

US$1.00 Registered 
Capital

INR 10.00 Ordinary

RM 1.00 A Ordinary

RM 10.00 Non-
Convertible Non-
Cumulative Irredeemable 
Preference Shares

RM 1.00 B Ordinary

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

99.9

100

100 

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Tesco Stores (Thailand) Limited*

34

THB 10.00 A Ordinary

THB 10.00 Ordinary

99.9

THB 10.00 B Preference

<0.001

Tesco Stores ČR a.s.

Tesco Stores SR, a.s.

Tesco Technology Services HK 
Limited

Tesco Trustee Company of Ireland 
Limited†

TESCO Üzleti és Technológiai 
Szolgáltatások Zârtköruen Múködó 
Részvénytársaság

Thundridge Unlimited 

Valiant Insurance Company DAC

Victoria BB Sp. z o.o.

Wanze Properties (Dundalk) Limited

WSC Properties Limited

THB 10.00 C Preference

CZK 1,000 Ordinary

€33,193.92 Ordinary

HKD 1.00 Ordinary

€1.25 Ordinary

HUF 100,000

€1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

PLN 800.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

€0.0000005 Ordinary

16

51

21

24

9

24

26

32

24

24

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

£1.00 Ordinary 

PLN 500.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

PLN 100.00 Ordinary

PLN Partnership Interests

CZK 100,000 Ordinary

CZK 100,000 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

€0.001 Ordinary

€1.25 A Ordinary

€1.25 B Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

€1.269738 Ordinary

 €1.00 Ordinary

CZK 100,000 Ordinary

US$50.00 Common Stock

TRY 25.00 Ordinary

INR 10.00 Ordinary

PLN 500.00 Ordinary

HUF 1.00 Business Share

Foundation

INR 10.00 Ordinary

£0.50 A Ordinary

£0.50 B Ordinary

£0.01 Preference – 
Guaranteed fixed rate 
cumulative preference

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100 

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

£0.01 Preferred Ordinary

100

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

171

Financial statements 
Related undertakings of the Tesco Group continued

Name of  
undertaking

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

Tesco Dorney (Nominee Holdco) Limited

Tesco Jade (GP) Limited

Tesco Mobile Limited*

Tesco Property (Sparta Nominees) Limited

Tesco Property (Nominees) (No.3) Limited

Tesco Property (Nominees) (No.4) Limited

Tesco Property Partner (GP No.2) Limited*

Tesco Sarum (GP) Limited*

Tesco Sarum (Nominee 1) Limited

Tesco Sarum (Nominee 2) Limited

Tesco Sarum (Nominee Holdco) Limited

Tesco Underwriting Limited

The Tesco Atrato Limited Partnership

The Tesco Coral Limited Partnership

The Tesco Dorney Limited Partnership

The Tesco Property (No.2) Limited 
Partnership

The Tesco Sarum Limited Partnership

1

90

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

50

1

1

1

27

1

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 B Ordinary

£0.10 A Ordinary

£0.90 B Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

Limited Partnership

100

30

30

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

49.9

50

50

50

50

50

The following associated undertakings were incorporated outside 
of the United Kingdom

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

Name of  
undertaking

Arena Unit Trust

China Wisdom dunnhumby Limited

China Wisdom dunnhumby 
(Shanghai) Limited

dunnhumby Denmark IvS

dunnhumby Mitsui Bussan Customer 
Science Co., Ltd

dunnhumby Norge A.S.

Gain Land Limited

Merrion Shopping Centre Limited

Retail Property Co., Limited*

Synergistic Property Development 
Co. Limited

Tesco Card Services Limited

Tesco for Thais Foundation

Tesco Lotus Retail Growth Freehold 
and Leasehold Property Fund

Tesco Mobile ČR s.r.o.

Tesco Mobile Slovakia s.r.o.

Trent Hypermarket Private Limited

87

40

39

81

31

43

36

24

44

93

45

34

46

16

51

41

Consolidated Structured Entities.

Name of  
undertaking

Registered 
address

Delamare Cards Holdco Limited

Delamare Cards MTN Issuer plc

Delamare Cards Receivables Trustee 
Limited

Delamare Cards Funding 1 Limited

Delamare Cards Funding 2 Limited

Delamare Finance PLC

Delamare Group Holdings Limited

85

85

85

85

85

11

11

50

50

50

100

50

50

20

51.9

100

50

100

–

25

50

50

50

-

RMB 264,000 Ordinary

RMB 26,400,000 
Registered capital

DKK1.00 Ordinary

Common stock 1,000

NOK 1,000 Ordinary

$1.00 Ordinary

€0.012697 Ordinary

THB 100.00 Ordinary A

THB 100.00 Ordinary

THB 100.00 Ordinary A

Foundation

THB non par  
value listed

CZK 100,000 Ordinary

€1.00 Ordinary

INR 10.00 Equity

Nature  
of business

Securitisation entity

Securitisation entity

Securitisation entity

Securitisation entity

Securitisation entity

Securitisation entity

Securitisation entity

*  Undertaking where other share classes are held by a third party.
† 

Interest held directly by Tesco PLC. 

(a)  95% held by Tesco PLC. 
(b)  66.6% held by Tesco PLC. 
(c)  Shares held by Tesco Pension Trustees Limited (TPTL), the corporate trustee of the 

Tesco PLC Pension Scheme (the Scheme). On behalf of the Scheme, TPTL holds a 50% 
shareholding in three property joint ventures with Tesco, and is the sole shareholder 
of Tesco Pension (Jade) Limited and Tesco Pension Investment Limited.

(d)  50% held by Tesco PLC. 
(e)  This company is the corporate trustee of the Tesco PLC Pension Scheme.
(f)  Company dissolved on 07/03/2019

Subsidiary undertakings in liquidation.
The following subsidiary undertakings were incorporated 
in the United Kingdom

Name of  
undertaking

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

Alfred Preedy & Sons (Trustees) Limited

Anthony Heagney Limited

Beehythe Estates Limited(f)

Bedminster Estates Limited

Cheshunt Finance Unlimited

Cheshunt Overseas LLP

Crazy Prices†

Daily Wrap Produce Limited†

Food & Wine Lovers Limited(f)

Gibbs Newsagent Limited(f)

Halesworth SPV Limited

Harts the Grocers (Russell Square) Limited

Harts the Grocers (TCR) Limited(f)

J.E. Cohen & Company Limited

Linebush III Limited

Linebush IV Limited

Linebush Limited

Linebush V Limited

London and Home Counties  
Superstores Limited

Mills (East Midlands) Limited

Mills Group Limited

Morgam News Limited

Snowman Retail 1 Limited

Snowman Retail 2 Limited

T & S Properties Limited

Tesco FFC Limited

Tesco FTO Limited(f)

Tesco Kirkby (General Partner) Limited

Tesco Kirkby (LP) Limited

Tesco Kirkby (Unitholder1) Limited

Tesco Kirkby (Unitholder2) Limited

Tesco TLB Barnstaple Limited

Tesco TLB Nottingham Limited

Tesco TLB Pontypridd Limited

Verulam Properties Limited

89

89

89

3

89

3

86

4

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

89

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.000000001

Limited Liability 
Partnership

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary A

£1.00 Ordinary B

£0.01 Ordinary A

£1.20 Ordinary B

£0.01 Ordinary C

£0.01 A Ordinary

£1.00 B Ordinary

£1.20 Ordinary A

£1.20 Ordinary B

£1.00 Ordinary A

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£0.01 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

89

£1.00 Ordinary

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

The following subsidiary undertakings were incorporated outside  
of the United Kingdom

Name of  
undertaking

dunnhumby Netherlands BV

Tesco Mauritius Holdings Limited

Tesco Vin Plus S.A. 

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

66

29

17

€1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

€1.60 Ordinary

100

100

100

Associated undertakings.
The following associated undertakings were incorporated 
in the United Kingdom

Name of  
undertaking

Broadfields Management Limited

Clarepharm Limited

Fresh Food Trader Limited 

Shire Park Limited

Tesco Atrato (GP) Limited*

Tesco Atrato (Nominee 1) Limited

Tesco Atrato (Nominee 2) Limited

Tesco Atrato (Nominee Holdco) Limited

Tesco Atrato Depot Propco Limited

Tesco Coral (GP) Limited*

Tesco Dorney (GP) Limited*

Tesco Dorney (Nominee 1) Limited

Tesco Dorney (Nominee 2) Limited

Registered 
address

Class of  
share held

% held  
by Group

47

48

7

49

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

£0.10 Ordinary

£0.10 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Preference

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 A Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

£1.00 Ordinary

35.3

26.5

50

100

54.5

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

172

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Registered office addresses

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

Tesco House, Shire Park, Kestrel Way, Welwyn Garden City AL7 1GA,  
United Kingdom

Apex Road, Brownhills, Walsall, West Midlands WS8 7TS, United Kingdom

KPMG LLP, 15 Canada Square, London E14 5GL, United Kingdom

Local Support Office, Abbey Retail Park, 1st Floor, Newtownabbey,  
Northern Ireland, BT36 7GU

184 Shepherd’s Bush Road, London W6 7NL, United Kingdom

c/o Morton Fraser LLP, 5th Floor, Quartermile Two, 2 Lister Square, Edinburgh, 
Scotland EH3 9GL, United Kingdom

7-10 Chandos Street, London W1G 9DQ, United Kingdom

Paseo de General Martinez Campos, Campos nº 9 1º izquierda, 28010 Madrid, 
Spain

ll38, Budapest, Váci út 187, Hungary

2 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9FQ, United Kingdom 

35 Great St Helen’s, London EC3A 6AP, United Kingdom

Av. Paulista, 37-4º Andar, São Paulo, 01311-902, Brazil

Avenida Santa María 5888, Piso 2 Zona A, Oficina 4, Vitacura, Santiago, 7660268, 
Chile 

Units 01, 02, 06, 07, 08, 09, Floor 17, No. 610 Xujiahui Road, Huangpu District, 
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

R1108 Level 11, Bld No.1, China Central Place, No. 81 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang 
District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Praha 10 – Vršovice, Vršovická 1527/68b, PSČ 10000, Prague, Czech Republic

Centre de Commerces et de Loisirs, Cité Europe, 62231 Coquelles, France

PO Box 25, Regency Court, Glategny Esplanade, St. Peter Port, GY1 3AP, Guernsey

Dorey Court, Admiral Park, St.Peter Port, GY1 4AT, Guernsey, United Kingdom 

31st Floor, AIA Kowloon Tower, Landmark East, 100 How Ming Street, Kowloon, 
Hong Kong

Level 54, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queens Road East, Hong Kong

H-2040 Budaörs, Kinizsi, ÚT 1-3, Hungary

81 & 82, EPIP Area, Whitefield, Bangalore, 560066, India

Gresham House, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland

25-28 North Wall Quay, International Financial Services Centre, Dublin 1, Ireland

38/39 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2, Ireland

PO Box 87, 22 Grenville Street, St Helier, JE4 8PX, Jersey

Lime Grove House, Green Street, St Helier, JE1 2ST, Jersey

c/o SGG Corporate Services (Mauritius) Limited, 33 Edith Cavell Street, Port Louis, 
11324, Mauritius

30 Willemsparkweg 150 hs, 1071 HS, Amsterdam, Netherlands

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

1-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

56 Kapelenka St, 30-347, Krakow, Poland

163 Tras Street, #03-01, Lian Huat Building, Singapore, 079024, Singapore

629/1 Nawamintr Road, Nuanchan, Buengkoom, Bangkok, 10230, Thailand

The Corporation Trust Company, 1209 Orange Street, Delaware, USA, 19801

Vistra Corporate Services Centre, Wickhams Cay II, Road Town, Tortola, VG1110, 
British Virgin Islands

Place Carillion, 7151 Jean-Talon East, Montreal Québec, H1M 3N, Canada

Equity House, Irthlingborough Road, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire NN8 1LT, 
United Kingdom

Room 501-4, No.398 Jiangsu Road, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

Suite 1106-8, 11/F., Tai Yau Building, No 181 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Taj Building, 2nd Floor, 210, Dr D.N. Road Fort, Mumbai, 400001, India

Level 8, Symphony House, Pusat Dagangan Dana 1, Jalan PJU 1A/46, 47301 Petaling 
Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Rosenkrantzgate 16, Oslo, O160, Norway

313 CP Tower, Silom Road, Khwaeng Silom, Khet Bangrak, Bangkok, Thailand

Capital Tower, All Seasons Place, Fl.1-6, 87/1 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, 
Bangkok 10330, Thailand

1 Empire Tower, 32nd Floor, South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Sathorn Bangkok, 
10120, Thailand

2 Paris Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX, United Kingdom

Thompson Jenner, 28 Alexandra Terrace, Exmouth, Devon EX8 1BD, United 
Kingdom

c/o Lamburn & Turner, Riverside House, 1 Place Farm, Wheathamstead St Albans, 
Hertfordshire AL4 8SB, United Kingdom

Ageas House, Hampshire Corporate Park, Templars Way, Eastleigh, Hampshire 
SO53 3YA, United Kingdom

Kamenné nám. 1/A 815 61 Bratislava, Slovakia

Calle 32 b sur #48-100, Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia

Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio, No. 3142, 6th Fl Jardim Paulista São Paulo, Brazil, 
01402-901

Yeni Havaalani Caddesi, No. 40 Cigli, Izmir, 35610 Turkey

Davis LLP, 2800 Park Place, 666 Burrand Street, Vancouver, BC, V6C 2Z7, Canada

4th Fl, Tower B, Paras Twin Towers, DLF Golf Course Road, Sector 54, Gurgaon, 
Haryana-HR, 122002, India

48 rue Cambon, 75001, Paris, France

Room 1001, Enterprise Development Tower, No. 398, Jiangsu Road Changning 
District, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China

S-22 Greater Kailash, Part 1, Lower Ground Floor, New Delhi 110048, India

Via Savonarola 217, 35137 Padova, Italy

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

Tokyo Club Building, 11F, 3-6 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

37th Floor, ASEM Tower, 517 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 135-798, Korea

Floor 3, 2 Harbour Square, Crofton Road, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland

10th Floor, Menara Hap Seng, No. 1 & 3 Jalan P Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur 50250, 
Malaysia

Avenida Insurgentes Centro 41, Floor 2, San Rafael, Mexico City, 06470, Mexico

Herikerberweg 238, Luna Arena 1101CM, Amsterdam, Zuidoost, Netherlands

Cesta na Senec 2, Bratislava, 821 04, Slovakia

B4 Century Square, Heron Crescent, Century City, Cape Town 7441 South Africa

No. 319 Chamchuri Square Building, 16th Fl, Unit 01, Phayathi Road Pathumwan sub 
District, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

c/o RSM Finland Oy, Ratamestarinkatu 7 B, 00520 Helsinki, Finland

One East Fourth Street, Suite 1400, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, United States

Paul-Lincke-Ufer 39/40, 10999 Berlin, Germany

Av.Brigadeiro Luis Antônio, 3530, 5° Andar, 01402-001 São Paulo, Brazil 

Stefanikova 18/25, Smichov 150 00, Prague 5, Czech Republic

48 rue Cambon 75001, Paris, France

C/O Vaish Associates, 106 Peninsula Centre, Dr.S.S Rao Road, parel 
Mumbai-400012, Maharashtra, India 

Danzigerkade 13H 2hg, 1013AP Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sociomantic labs Sp z.o.o., ul. Pulawska 2,02-566 Warszawa, Poland

Spasopeskovskiy lane, 7/1, bld.1., Moscow, 121099, Russia

30 A Tanjong Pagar Rod, Singapore, 088453, Singapore 

c/o TMF Denmark A/S, Købmagergade 60, 1. tv., 1150 København K, Denmark

Istiklal Caddesi Beyoglu Is Merkezi No: 187/5 Galatasaray, Istanbul, Turkey

Room 886S, 8/F, 1111, Changshou Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai, People’s 
Republic of China

5th Floor, Unit 401, Tower B, The Millenia, No. 1&2 Murphy Road Ulsoor, Bangalore, 
560 008, India

Asticus Building, 2nd Floor, 21 Palmer Street, London SW1H 0AD,  
United Kingdom

Ernst & Young LLP, 16 Bedford Street, Belfast, BT2 7DT, Northern Ireland

47 Esplanade, St Helier, JE1 0BD, Jersey, United Kingdom

Unit 607, 6th floor, Trade Centre, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, 
400051, Maharashtra, India

Ernst & Young LLP, 1 More London Place, London, SE1 2AF, United Kingdom

State Street Global Advisors Limited, 20 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London 
E14 5HJ, United Kingdom

5 Esperidon Street, 4th floor, 2001 Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus

PO Box 237, Peregrine House, Peel Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1SU

999/9, 31st Floor, Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan District, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

Level 21, 55 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia

Av. El Golf 40, 7th floor, Las Condes, Santiago de Chile, Chile

RSM New Zealand, Level 2, 60 Highbrook Drive, Auckland, 2013, New Zealand

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

173

Financial statementsSupplementary	information	(unaudited)

Total sales performance at actual rates (exc. VAT, exc. fuel).(a) 

UK & ROI
UK & ROI (comparable growth(b))

UK
ROI
Booker

Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank
Group
Group (comparable growth(b))

1Q 
2018/19
16.6%
3.5%
1.9%
9.5%
12.8%
0.7%
(6.8)%
7.0%
12.1%
2.3%

2Q 
2018/19
18.9%
3.5%
1.7%
7.2%
13.7%
(5.8)%
(1.3)%
1.1%
13.4%
2.0%

Total sales performance at constant rates (exc. VAT, exc. fuel).(a)

UK & ROI
UK & ROI (comparable growth(b))

UK
ROI
Booker

Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank
Group
Group (comparable growth(b))

1Q 
2018/19
16.5%
3.4%
1.9%
6.8%
12.8%
(2.9)%
(7.2)%
7.0%
11.5%
1.8%

2Q 
2018/19
18.9%
3.5%
1.7%
7.6%
13.7%
(4.2)%
(2.5)%
1.1%
13.5%
2.1%

3Q 
2018/19
14.5%
0.6%
(0.9)%
3.4%
9.7%
(7.2)%
(3.3)%
2.2%
9.9%
(0.5)%

3Q 
2018/19
14.5%
0.7%
(0.9)%
4.1%
9.7%
(5.2)%
(6.0)%
2.2%
9.9%
(0.5)%

4Q 
2018/19
14.6%
0.7%
0.4%
0.7%
2.6%
(6.9)%
5.0%
8.5%
10.8%
0.3%

4Q 
2018/19
14.5%
0.7%
0.4%
0.2%
2.6%
(5.7)%
(0.7)%
8.5%
10.4%
(0.0)%

1H 
2018/19
17.7%
3.5%
1.8%
8.4%
13.3%
(2.7)%
(4.1)%
4.2%
12.8%
2.2%

1H 
2018/19
17.7%
3.5%
1.8%
7.2%
13.3%
(3.5)%
(5.0)%
4.2%
12.5%
2.0%

(a)  Sales growth shown on a comparable days basis and includes an adjustment to last year’s figures to reflect a change in the reporting of consignment sales.
(b)  Comparable total growth presents growth with Booker sales included in the prior year base from Q1 2018/19.

Like-for-like sales performance (exc. VAT, exc. fuel).

1Q 
2018/19
3.5%
2.1%
3.0%
14.3%
(1.0)%
(9.0)%
n/a
1.8%

2Q 
2018/19
4.2%
2.5%
3.1%
15.1%
(2.0)%
(4.8)%
n/a
2.7%

3Q 
2018/19
1.9%
0.7%
(0.2)%
11.0%
(3.0)%
(8.0)%
n/a
0.5%

4Q 
2018/19
1.9%
1.7%
(0.4)%
4.3%
(3.0)%
(3.0)%
n/a
0.9%

1H 
2018/19
3.8%
2.3%
3.1%
14.7%
(1.5)%
(7.0)%
n/a
2.2%

2H 
2018/19
14.5%
0.7%
(0.2)%
2.0%
6.1%
(7.1)%
1.0%
5.3%
10.4%
(0.1)%

2H 
2018/19
14.5%
0.7%
(0.2)%
2.1%
6.1%
(5.4)%
(3.3)%
5.3%
10.2%
(0.3)%

2H 
2018/19
1.9%
1.2%
(0.3)%
7.6%
(3.0)%
(5.4)%
n/a
0.7%

FY 
2018/19
16.1%
2.1%
0.8%
5.0%
9.6%
(4.9)%
(1.6)%
4.7%
11.5%
1.0%

FY 
2018/19
16.1%
2.1%
0.8%
4.5%
9.6%
(4.5)%
(4.1)%
4.7%
11.3%
0.8%

FY 
2018/19
2.9%
1.7%
1.3%
11.1%
(2.3)%
(6.2)%
n/a
1.4%

Revenue (exc. VAT, inc. fuel)*

Local currency
(m)
 43,445 
 2,683 
 5,826 
 43,338 
 573,887 
 9,613 
 1,375 
 172,850 
 4,383 

£m
 43,445 
 2,372 
 5,826 
 1,492 
 1,585 
 1,986 
 1,216 
 4,055 
 818 

Average exchange
rate
 1.0 
 1.1 
 1.0 
 29.0 
 362.1 
 4.8 
 1.1 
 42.6 
 5.4 

Closing exchange
rate 
 1.0 
 1.1 
 1.0 
 28.8 
 355.5 
 4.7 
 1.1 
 43.9 
 5.5 

*  Excludes franchising revenue within Central Europe of £19m, which is not allocated to individual countries.

UK sales area by size of store.

Store size (sq. ft.)
0-3,000
3,001-20,000
20,001-40,000
40,001-60,000
60,001-80,000
80,001-100,000
Over 100,000
Total*

*  Excludes Booker and franchise stores.

February 2019

February 2018

No. of stores
2,515
284
284
182
120
45
8
3,438

Million sq. ft.
5.4
3.0
8.2
8.8
8.4
3.7
1.0
38.5

% of total
sq. ft.
14.0
7.8
21.3
22.9
21.8
9.6
2.6
100.0

No. of stores
2,512
284
284
182
120
45
8
3,435

Million sq. ft.
5.2
3.4
8.2
9.4
8.5
4.2
0.9
39.8

% of total
sq. ft.
13.1
8.5
20.6
23.6
21.4
10.6
2.2
100.0

174

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

UK & ROI
UK
ROI
Booker

Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank
Group

Country detail – Retail.

UK
ROI
Booker
Czech Republic
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia
Thailand
Malaysia

Group space summary.
Actual Group space – store numbers.(a)

Large
Small
Dotcom only
Total Tesco
One Stop(d)
Booker
Jack’s
UK(d)
ROI
UK & ROI(d)

Czech Republic(d)
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia
Central Europe(d)
Malaysia
Thailand
Asia
Group(d)

UK (One Stop)
Czech Republic
Franchise stores

2017/18 
year-end(b)

801
1,852
6
2,659
776
198
–
3,633
150
3,783
189
206
415
151
961
72
1,951
2,023
6,767
169
97
266

Openings
–
9
–
9
4
1
8
22
2
24
–
–
–
–
–
2
70
72
96
19
5
24

Closures/
disposals
(4)
(6)
–
(10)
(8)
(2)
–
(20)
–
(20)
(1)
(2)
(62)
(1)
(66)
(1)
(56)
(57)
(143)
(14)
(3)
(17)

(a)  Continuing operations.
(b)  Adjusted to include Booker and a change in classification of UK store formats.
(c)  The net gain/(reduction) reflects the number of store openings less the number of store closures/disposals.
(d)  Excludes franchise stores.

Actual Group space – ’000 sq. ft.(a)

Large
Small
Dotcom only
Total Tesco
One Stop(e)
Booker
Jack’s
UK(e)
ROI
UK & ROI(e)

Czech Republic(e)
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia
Central Europe(e)
Malaysia
Thailand
Asia
Group(e)

UK (One Stop)
Czech Republic
Franchise stores

2017/18 
year-end(b)(c)
31,426
5,128
716
37,270
1,266
8,580
–
47,116
3,272
50,388
4,832
6,511
8,909
3,555
23,807
3,637
14,835
18,472
92,667
224
92
316

Openings(c)

Closures/ 
disposals(c)

–
16
–
16
7
9
81
113
63
176
–
–
–
–
–
79
543
622
798
23
5
28

(58)
(47)
–
(105)
(12)
(153)
–
(270)
–
(270)
(68)
(3)
(861)
(81)
(1,013)
(84)
(112)
(196)
(1,479)
(20)
(2)
(22)

Net gain/ 
 (reduction)(c)
(4)
3
–
(1)
(4)
(1)
8
2
2
4
(1)
(2)
(62)
(1)
(66)
1
14
15
(47)
5
2
7

Repurposing/ 
extensions(d)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(162)
(227)
(244)
(36)
(669)
(99)
(242)
(341)
(1,010)
–
–
–

2018/19  
year-end
797
1,855
6
2,658
772
197
8
3,635
152
3,787
188
204
353
150
895
73
1,965
2,038
6,720
174
99
273

Repurposing/ 
extensions
–
–
–
–
–
1
–
1
–
1
5
4
4
1
14
6
20
26
41
–
–
–

Net gain/ 
(reduction)
(58)
(31)
–
(89)
(5)
(144)
81
(157)
63
(94)
(230)
(230)
(1,105)
(117)
(1,682)
(104)
189
85
(1,691)
3
3
6

2018/19 
year-end
31,368
5,097
716
37,181
1,261
8,436
81
46,959
3,335
50,294
4,602
6,281
7,804
3,438
22,125
3,533
15,024
18,557
90,976
227
95
322

(a)  Continuing operations.
(b)  Adjusted to include Booker and a change in classification of UK store formats.
(c)  Our definition of space has been updated to reflect retail selling space excluding checkouts, customer services desks and customer toilets.
(d)  Repurposing of retail selling space.
(e)  Excludes franchise stores.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

175

Other informationSupplementary	information	(unaudited)	continued

Group space summary continued
Group space forecast to 29 February 2020 – ’000 sq. ft.(a)

Large
Small
Dotcom only
Total Tesco
One Stop(d)
Booker
Jack’s
UK(d)
ROI
UK & ROI(d)

Czech Republic(b)
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia
Central Europe(d)
Malaysia
Thailand
Asia
Group(d)

UK (One Stop)
Czech Republic
Franchise stores

2018/19 
year-end(b)
31,368
5,097
716
37,181
1,261
8,436
81
46,959
3,335
50,294
4,602
6,281
7,804
3,438
22,125
3,533
15,024
18,557
90,976
227
95
322

Openings(b)

–
43
–
43
16
–
70
129
3
132
33
–
–
54
87
61
146
207
426
33
14
47

Closures/ 
disposals(b)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(50)
–
(50)
–
–
–
(50)
–
–
–

Repurposing/ 
extensions(c)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(265)
(493)
–
(246)
(1,004)
(172)
–
(172)
(1,176)
–
–
–

Net gain/
 (reduction)
–
43
–
43
16
–
70
129
3
132
(232)
(493)
(50)
(192)
(967)
(111)
146
35
(800)
33
14
47

(a)  Continuing operations.
(b)  Our definition of space has been updated to reflect retail selling area space excluding checkouts, customer services desks and customer toilets.
(c)  Repurposing of retail selling space.
(d)  Excludes franchise stores.

Tesco Bank income statement.

Revenue
Interest receivable and similar income
Fees and commissions receivable

Direct costs
Interest payable
Fees and commissions payable

Gross profit
Other expenses
Staff costs
Premises and equipment
Other administrative expenses
Depreciation and amortisation
Provisions for bad and doubtful debts
Operating profit before exceptional items
Exceptional items(c) 
Operating profit
Net finance costs: movements on derivatives and hedge accounting
Net finance costs: interest
Share of profit/(loss) of joint venture
Profit before tax

2019(a) 
£m

729
368
1,097

(175)
(27)
(202)
895

(170)
(80)
(201)
(83)
(164)
197
(30)
167
(4)
(4)
8
167

2019/20  
year-end
31,368
5,140
716
37,224
1,277
8,436
151
47,088
3,338
50,426
4,370
5,788
7,754
3,246
21,158
3,422
15,170
18,592
90,176
260
109
369

2018(b) 
£m

673
374
1,047

(176)
(22)
(198)
849

(174)
(77)
(209)
(83)
(137)
169
(24)
145
11
(4)
10
162

(a)  These results are for the 12 months ended 28 February 2019 and the previous period represents the 12 months ended 28 February 2018.
(b)  Restated for the adoption of IFRS 15 as explained in Note 1 and Note 36 of the Group financial statements.
(c)  Exceptional items in 2019 comprise of a PPI provisions charge of £(16)m, a regulatory charge of £(16)m partially offset by a restructuring credit of £2m reflecting a reduction in dilapidations 
and onerous lease provision. Exceptional items in 2018 consist of an increase in PPI provision of £(35)m partially offset by a decrease in CCA provision of £1m and a credit of £10m received 
following the conclusion of negotiations with a third party in respect of previously recognised customer redress.

176

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures 

Risk management.
The identification and mangement of climate-related risks follows 
our established risk management process. Key elements of the risk 
management process are set out on page 59.
Metrics and targets.
In May 2017, we announced new science-based targets for our own 
operations, aligned with the Paris Agreement’s aspiration to limit 
global warming to 1.5 degrees. We are on track to reduce absolute 
carbon emissions from our operations from 2015/16 levels by 35% 
by 2020, 60% by 2025 and 100% by 2050. To help us meet our 
targets, we have committed to source 100% of our electricity from 
renewable sources by 2030. We also announced science-based 
climate change targets for our manufacturing and agricultural 
suppliers. Climate change metrics and targets are disclosed in 
the Little Helps Plan section on page 31.

Tesco has publicly committed to implementing the recommendations 
of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). 
We recognise climate change as the biggest environmental threat 
the world faces, and one which could pose particular challenges to 
our business including our supply chain and operations. Disclosing 
these climate related risks is an important step in demonstrating 
our understanding of these risks and efforts to mitigate them. In 
addition to enhancing business resilience, it also enables us to take 
advantage of any opportunities it may offer.

This year represents our first disclosure to address the TCFD 
recommendations and we expect this to develop and evolve over 
time to reflect our analysis. 
Governance.
Climate change is one of the Foundations underpinning our Little 
Helps Plan and climate impacts from our supply chain are also 
considered within the Products pillar of the Plan. The Little Helps 
Plan outlines Tesco’s commitment to tackle social and 
environmental challenges facing the business, our customers and 
our communities. The Board’s Corporate Responsibility Committee 
is responsible for managing our impacts on climate change, as well 
as the risks that climate change may pose to our business. The 
Committee meets three times during the year and receives regular 
updates on our Little Helps Plan commitments and performance. 
Strategy.
Our Little Helps Plan sets our commitments to and our progress 
towards mitigating the climate change impacts of our own 
operations and supply chain, as set out on page 31. In addition to 
addressing our impacts on the climate, we also aim to anticipate 
and respond to any risks and opportunities to our business posed 
by the changing climate.

In order to better understand the resilience of our business to 
short and long-term climate risks and opportunities, Alan Stewart, 
the Chief Financial Officer, commissioned scenario analysis in line 
with the TCFD recommendations. This year we are assessing the UK 
business – our biggest market – prioritising our estate as well as 
produce and animal protein categories. These are our key 
commercial categories, with supply chains around the world. 

We are assessing the risks and opportunities we may face in 2030 
under two climate scenarios. We use the scenarios developed by 
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other credible 
organisations to assess Tesco’s exposure to physical climate risks 
such as rising temperatures, shifts of precipitation patterns and 
extreme weather events. We have focused on agricultural 
production by country and product. Beyond physical risks, we are 
also assessing any risks and opportunities arising from a transition 
to a low-carbon world aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement. 
Our focus is on material risks for Tesco arising from market and 
policy shifts in energy and agriculture. 

The results of our scenario analysis will inform our long-term 
strategic business planning.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

177

Other informationGlossary

Glossary – alternative performance measures.
Introduction.
In the reporting of financial information, the Directors have 
adopted various APMs.

These measures are not defined by International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRS) and therefore may not be directly 
comparable with other companies’ APMs, including those in 
the Group’s industry. 

APMs should be considered in addition to, and are not intended 
to be a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS measurements. 
Purpose.
The Directors believe that these APMs assist in providing additional 
useful information on the underlying trends, performance and 
position of the Group. 

APMs are also used to enhance the comparability of information 
between reporting periods and geographical units (such as 
like-for-like sales), by adjusting for non-recurring or uncontrollable 
factors which affect IFRS measures, to aid users in understanding 
the Group’s performance.

Consequently, APMs are used by the Directors and management 
for performance analysis, planning, reporting and incentive-setting 
purposes.

The key APMs that the Group has focused on and changes to APMs 
within the period can be found in Note 1.

Some of the Group’s IFRS measures are translated at constant 
exchange rates. Constant exchange rates are the average actual 
periodic exchange rates for the previous financial period and are 
used to eliminate the effects of exchange rate fluctuations in 
assessing performance. Actual exchange rates are the average 
actual periodic exchange rates for that financial period.

APM

Income statement 
Revenue measures
Group sales

Closest equivalent  
IFRS measure

Adjustments to reconcile  
to IFRS measure

Note/page reference  
for reconciliation

Definition  
and purpose

Revenue

 – Exclude sales made 

Note 2

at petrol filling stations

 – Excludes the impact of sales made at petrol filling stations to 
demonstrate the Group’s underlying performance in the core 
retail and financial services businesses by removing the 
volatilities associated with the movement in fuel prices. 
This is a key management incentive metric.

Growth in sales

No direct 
equivalent 

 – Consistent with  
accounting policy

Not applicable

 – Growth in sales is a ratio that measures year-on-year 

Like-for-like

No direct 
equivalent

 – Consistent with  
accounting policy

Not applicable

movement in Group sales for continuing operations for 52 
weeks. It shows the annual rate of increase in the Group’s 
sales and is considered a good indicator of how rapidly 
the Group’s core business is growing.

 – Like-for-like is a measure of growth in Group online sales and 
sales from stores that have been open for at least a year (but 
excludes prior year sales of stores closed during the year) at 
constant foreign exchange rates. It is a widely used indicator 
of a retailer’s current trading performance and is important 
when comparing growth between retailers that have 
different profiles of expansion, disposals and closures. 

Income statement
Profit measures
Operating profit 
before exceptional 
items and 
amortisation of 
acquired intangibles
Operating margin 

Earnings before 
exceptional items, 
interest, tax, 
depreciation, 
amortisation and 
rent expense 
(EBITDAR)

Profit before tax 
before exceptional 
items and 
amortisation of 
acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance 
costs and fair value 
remeasurements on 
financial instruments

Operating profit*

 – Exceptional items
 – Amortisation of 

acquired intangibles

Note 2

 – Operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation of 
acquired intangibles is the headline measure of the Group’s 
performance. This is a key management incentive metric.

No direct 
equivalent

 – Consistent with 
accounting  
policy

Operating profit*

Profit before tax

 – Exceptional items
 – Depreciation and 

amortisation
 – Rent expense
 – Tesco Bank EBITDAR
 – Discontinued 
operations

 – Exceptional items
 – Amortisation of 

acquired intangibles
 – Net pension finance 

costs 

 – Fair value 

remeasurements on 
financial instruments

Not applicable

 – Operating margin is calculated as operating profit before 

exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles 
divided by revenue. Progression in operating margin is an 
important indicator of the Group’s operating efficiency. 

Page 181

 – This measure is based on Retail operating profit from 

continuing operations before exceptional items. It excludes 
Retail depreciation, amortisation and rent expense and is 
used to derive the Total indebtedness ratio and Fixed 
charge cover APMs.

Note 9

 – This measure excludes exceptional items and amortisation of 
acquired intangibles, net finance costs of the defined benefit 
pension deficit and fair value remeasurements on financial 
instruments. Net pension finance costs are impacted by 
corporate bond yields, which can fluctuate significantly and 
are reset each year based on often volatile external market 
factors. Fair value remeasurements are impacted by changes 
to credit risk and various market indices, which can fluctuate 
significantly. Also included in these items are fair value 
remeasurements on financial instruments resulting from 
liability management exercises.

*  Operating profit is presented on the Group income statement. It is not defined per IFRS, however is a generally accepted profit measure.

178

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

APM
Profits/(losses) 
arising on property-
related items 

Closest equivalent  
IFRS measure
No direct 
equivalent

Adjustments to reconcile  
to IFRS measure
 – Consistent with 
accounting  
policy

Note/page reference  
for reconciliation
Not applicable

Total finance costs 
before exceptional 
items, net pension 
finance costs and 
fair value 
remeasurements on 
financial instruments

Finance costs

 – Exceptional items
 – Net pension finance 

Note 5

costs 

 – Fair value 

remeasurements on 
financial instruments

Definition  
and purpose
 – Profits/(losses) arising on property-related items relates to 
the Group’s property activities including; gains and losses on 
disposal of property assets, development property built for 
resale and property joint ventures; costs resulting from 
changes in the Group’s store portfolio and distribution 
network, including pre-opening and post-closure costs; and 
income/(charges) associated with impairment of non-trading 
property and related onerous contracts.

 – These items are disclosed separately to clearly identify the 
impact of these items versus the other operating expenses 
related to the core retail and financial services operations of 
the business. They are often one-time in nature and can have 
a disproportionate impact on profit between reporting periods.

 – Total finance costs before exceptional items, net pension 
finance costs and fair value remeasurements on financial 
instruments is the net finance costs adjusted for non-
recurring one-off items, net pension finance costs and 
fair value remeasurements on financial instruments. 
Net pension finance costs are impacted by corporate 
bond yields, which can fluctuate significantly and are reset 
each year based on often volatile external market factors. 
Fair value remeasurements are impacted by changes to 
credit risk and various market indices, which can fluctuate 
significantly. Also included in these items are fair value 
remeasurements on financial instruments resulting from 
liability management exercises.

Diluted earnings per 
share from 
continuing 
operations before 
exceptional items 
and amortisation of 
acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance 
costs and fair value 
remeasurements on 
financial instruments 

Income statement
Tax measures
Effective tax rate 
before exceptional 
items and 
amortisation of 
acquired intangibles

Effective tax rate 
before exceptional 
items and 
amortisation of 
acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance 
costs and fair value 
remeasurements on 
financial instruments

Diluted earnings  
per share

 – Exceptional items
 – Amortisation of 

acquired intangibles

 – Discontinued 
operations

 – Net pension finance 

costs 

 – Fair value 

remeasurements on 
financial instruments

Note 9

 – This relates to profit after tax before exceptional items 

and amortisation of acquired intangibles from continuing 
operations, net pension finance costs and fair value 
remeasurements attributable to owners of the parent 
divided by the weighted average number of ordinary 
shares in issue during the financial period.

 – It excludes net pension finance costs and fair value 

remeasurements on financial instruments. Net pension 
finance costs are impacted by corporate bond yields, 
which can fluctuate significantly and are reset each year 
based on often volatile external market factors. Fair value 
remeasurements are impacted by changes to credit risk 
and various market indices, which can fluctuate significantly. 
Also included in these items are fair value remeasurements 
on financial instruments resulting from liability 
management exercises.

Effective tax rate

 – Exceptional items and 

Note 6

 – Effective tax rate before exceptional items and amortisation 

their tax impact
 – Amortisation of 

acquired intangibles 
and their tax impact

Effective tax rate

 – Exceptional items and 

Note 6

their tax impact
 – Amortisation of 

acquired intangibles 
and their tax impact
 – Net pension finance 
costs and their tax 
impact
 – Fair value 

remeasurements on 
financial instruments 
and their tax impact 

of acquired intangibles is calculated as total income tax 
credit/(charge) excluding the tax impact of exceptional 
items and amortisation of acquired intangibles divided by 
profit before tax before exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangibles. This provides an indication of the 
ongoing tax rate across the Group.

 – Effective tax rate before exceptional items and amortisation 
of acquired intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair 
value remeasurements on financial instruments is calculated 
as total income tax credit/(charge) excluding the tax impact 
of exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements 
divided by the profit before tax before exceptional items and 
amortisation of acquired intangibles, net pension finance 
costs and fair value remeasurements.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

179

Other informationGlossary continued

APM

Closest equivalent  
IFRS measure

Adjustments to reconcile  
to IFRS measure

Note/page reference
for reconciliation

Definition  
and purpose

Balance sheet measures
Net debt 

Borrowings less 
cash and related 
hedges

 – Net debt from Tesco 

Note 30

Bank

Total indebtedness 

Borrowings less 
cash and related 
hedges

 – Net debt from Tesco 

Page 181

Bank 

 – Present value of future 

minimum lease 
payments under 
non-cancellable 
operating leases
 – IAS 19 deficit in the 
pension schemes

 – Consistent with 

accounting policy

Total indebtedness 
ratio

No direct 
equivalent

Fixed charge cover 

No direct 
equivalent

 – Consistent with 

accounting policy

 – Net debt excludes the net debt of Tesco Bank but includes 
that of the discontinued operations to reflect the net debt 
obligations of the Retail business. Net debt comprises bank 
and other borrowings, finance lease payables, net derivative 
financial instruments, joint venture loans and other 
receivables and net interest receivables/payables, offset 
by cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. 
It is a useful measure of the progress in generating cash and 
strengthening of the Group’s balance sheet position and 
is a measure widely used by credit rating agencies.

 – Total indebtedness is the net debt plus the IAS 19 deficit in 
the pension schemes (net of associated deferred tax) plus 
the present value of future minimum lease payments under 
non-cancellable operating leases to provide an overall view 
of the Group’s obligations. It is an important measure of the 
long-term obligations of the Group and is a measure widely 
used by credit rating agencies.

Page 181

 – Total indebtedness ratio is calculated as Total indebtedness 

divided by the rolling 12-month EBITDAR. It is a measure of the 
Group’s ability to meet its payment obligations and is widely 
used by analysts and credit rating agencies.

Page 181

 – Fixed charge cover is calculated as the rolling 12-month 

EBITDAR divided by the sum of rent expense and net finance 
cost, excluding net pension finance costs, exceptional items, 
capitalised interest and fair value remeasurements. It is a 
measure of the Group’s ability to meet its payment 
obligations and is widely used by analysts and credit 
rating agencies.

Cash flow measures
Retail operating  
cash flow

Cash generated 
from operating 
activities

Free cash flow

Cash generated 
from operating 
activities

Retail free  
cash flow

Cash generated 
from operating 
activities

 – Tesco Bank operating 

Note 2

 – Retail operating cash flow is the cash generated from 

cash flow

 – Discontinued 
operations

operations of continuing operations, excluding the effects 
of Tesco Bank’s cash flows. It is a measure of the cash 
generation and working capital efficiency by the Retail 
business, recognising that Tesco Bank is run and regulated 
independently from the Retail operations, and a key measure 
to demonstrate the recovery of the Retail operations. 
This is a key management incentive metric.

 – Net cash generated 

Note 2

 – Free cash flow includes all cash flows from operating and 

investing activities, and the market purchase of shares net 
of proceeds from shares issued in relation to share schemes. 
The following items are excluded: investing cash flows that 
increase/(decrease) items within Group net debt, and cash 
flows from major corporate acquisitions and disposals. This 
measure reflects the cash available to shareholders.

from/(used in) 
investing activities,  
and the market 
purchase of shares 
issued in relation to 
share schemes

 – Investing cash flows 

that increase/
decrease items 
within Group net debt
 – Cash flows from major 
corporate acquisitions 
and disposals

 – Tesco Bank operating 

Note 2

 – Retail free cash flow includes all cash flows from operating 

and investing activities for the Retail business, and the market 
purchase of shares net of proceeds from shares issued in 
relation to share schemes. The following items are excluded: 
investing cash flows that increase/decrease items within Net 
debt, and cash flows from major corporate acquisitions and 
disposals. This measure reflects the cash available to 
shareholders.

cash flow

 – Retail net cash 
generated  
from/(used in) 
investing activities,  
and the market 
purchase of shares 
issued in relation 
to share schemes
 – Investing cash flows 

that increase/
decrease items 
within Net debt

 – Cash flows from major 
corporate acquisitions 
and disposals

180

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

APMs:	Reconciliation	of	debt	metrics.

EBITDAR	(restated)

Operating profit/(loss) from continuing operations before exceptional items and  
amortisation of acquired intangibles
Less: Tesco Bank operating profit/(loss) before exceptional items
Add: Depreciation and amortisation (excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles)
Less: Tesco Bank depreciation and amortisation
Add: Retail operating lease expense*

*  Group operating lease expense of £1,078m (2018: £1,018m) includes £3m (2018: £3m) relating to Tesco Bank.

Total	indebtedness	ratio	(restated)

Net debt (£m)
Add: Defined benefit pension deficit, net of deferred tax (£m)
Add: Discounted operating lease commitments (£m)
Total indebtedness (£m)
EBITDAR (£m)
Total indebtedness ratio

Fixed	charge	cover	(restated)

Net finance cost (£m)
Less: Net pension finance costs (£m)
Less: Exceptional foreign exchange losses on GBP short-term investments held in overseas entities (£m)
Add: Capitalised interest (£m)
Add: Fair value remeasurements on financial instruments (£m)
Net finance cost, excluding net pension finance costs, exceptional items, capitalised interest and fair 
value remeasurements on financial instruments (£m)
Add: Retail operating lease expense (£m)*

Notes

2
2
2
2
3

Notes
30
27
34

Notes
5
5
5
5
5

3

2019
£m

 2,206 
 (197)
 1,297 
 (83)
 1,075 
 4,298 

2019
 2,863 
 2,338 
 6,999 
 12,200 
 4,298 
 2.8 

2019
 514 
 (89)
– 
 1 
(153) 
273 

 1,075 
 1,348 
 4,298 
 3.2 

2018
£m

1,646
(169)
1,295
(83)
1,015
3,704

2018
2,625
2,728
6,931
12,284
3,704
3.3

2018
533
(162)
(38)
2
23
358

1,015
1,373
3,704
2.7

EBITDAR (£m)
Fixed charge cover

Other.
Capital expenditure (Capex).
The additions to property, plant and equipment, investment 
property and intangible assets (excluding assets acquired 
under business combinations).
Capital employed.
Net assets plus net debt plus dividend creditor less net 
assets of the disposal group and non-current assets classified 
as held for sale.
Enterprise Value.
This is calculated as market capitalisation plus net debt.
FTE.
FTE refers to full-time equivalents.
LPI.
LPI refers to limited price inflation.
Market capitalisation.
The total value of all Tesco shares calculated as total number 
of shares multiplied by the closing share price at year-end.
MTN.
MTN refers to Medium Term Note.
Net Promoter Score (NPS).
This is a loyalty measure based on a single question requiring a 
score between 0-10. The NPS is calculated by subtracting the 
percentage of detractors (scoring 0-6) from the percentage of 
promoters (scoring 9-10). This generates a figure between -100 
and 100 which is the NPS.

Return on capital employed (ROCE).
Return divided by the average of opening and closing 
capital employed. 
Return.
Profit before exceptional items and interest, after tax 
(applied at effective rate of tax).
RPI.
RPI refers to the retail price index.
Total shareholder return.
The notional annualised return from a share, measured as 
the percentage change in the share price, plus the dividends 
paid with the gross dividends, reinvested in Tesco shares. 
This is measured over both a one and five year period.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

181

Other informationFive-year record

Figures below reflect the latest published information. For financial years prior to 2019, these figures represent the comparatives from the 
following years’ financial statements. During 2017, the Group decided to sell its operations in Turkey. Accordingly, these operations were treated 
as discontinued in 2017. The 2016 statistics have been re-presented to be consistent with 2017. Prior years have not been re-presented. 
Korea was first classified as a discontinued operation in 2015/16. China was first classified as a discontinued operation in 2013/14. 

The Group has determined new segments and defined new non-GAAP measures for 2015/16 onwards. Refer to Note 1 and Note 2. 2014/15 
data for these new measures and segments has been presented, but prior historic data has not.

In 2018, the Group reassessed its reportable segments and determined that the retailing and associated activities previously disclosed within 
the International segment should be segregated between the Central Europe and Asia segments. Refer to Note 2. The Group had also 
determined new segments and defined new APMs during 2016. Historical data up to 2015 data for these new measures and segments has been 
presented, but prior historic data has not. The Group determined new APMs during 2019 and historical data for the new measures have not 
been restated as the impact is not considered material. Refer to Note 1 and the Glossary.

2015(a)

2016

2017

2018

2019

Financial statistics (£m)
Sales
UK & ROI
Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank
Group sales(c)
Revenue
UK & ROI
Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank
Group revenue
Operating profit/(loss) before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles(c)
UK & ROI
Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank
Group operating profit/(loss) before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles(c)
Operating profit margin before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles
Operating profit/(loss)
UK & ROI
Central Europe
Asia
Tesco Bank
Group operating profit/(loss)
Share of post-tax profits/(losses) of joint ventures and associates
Net finance costs
Profit/(loss) before tax
Taxation
Profit/(loss) for the year from continuing operations
Discontinued operations
Profit/(loss) for the year
Attributable to:
Owners of the parent
Non-controlling interests
Profit before tax, exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, net pension finance costs and fair 
value remeasurements on financial instruments(c)
Other financial statistics
Diluted earnings/(losses) per share – continuing operations
Diluted earnings per share – continuing operations before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles, 
net pension finance costs and fair value remeasurements on financial instruments(c)
Dividend per share(b)
Cash generated from retail operating activities (£m)
APM: Free cash flow (£m)
Return on capital employed (ROCE)(c)
Total shareholder return(c)
Net debt (£m)(c)
Discounted operating lease commitments – continuing operations (£m)
Pension deficit, net of deferred tax – Group (£m)
Total indebtedness (£m)(c)
Enterprise value (£m)(c)

Group retail statistics
Number of stores(d)
Total sales area (’000 sq. ft.)(d)
Average employees
Average full-time equivalent employees (FTE)
UK & ROI retail statistics
Number of stores(d)
Total sales area (’000 sq. ft.)(d)
Average full-time equivalent employees (FTE)
Revenue (exc. fuel) (per FTE – £)

Weekly revenue (exc. fuel) (per sq. ft. – £)

38,228
6,186
4,492
947
49,853

45,062
6,424
4,492
947
56,925

498
(4)
258
188
940
1.7%

(5,334)
(666)
97
153
(5,750)
(13)
(571)
(6,334)
670
(5,664)
(102)
(5,766)

(5,741)
(25)

37,189
5,268
4,447
955
47,859

43,080
5,451
4,447
955
53,933

503
102
218
162
985
1.8%

597
111
203
161
1,072
(21)
(849)
202
54
256
(127)
129

138
(9)

516

509

37,692
5,977
5,186
1,012
49,867

43,524
6,195
5,186
1,012
55,917

803
58
262
157
1,280
2.3%

519
190
231
77
1,017
(107)
(765)
145
(87)
58
(112)
(54)

(40)
(14)

781

38,656
6,343
4,947
1,047
50,993

44,914
6,585
4,947
1,047
57,493

1,059
119
299
169
1,646
2.9%

1,205
212
277
145
1,839
(6)
(533)
1,300
(306)
994
216
1,210

1,208
2

44,883
6,030
4,873
1,097
56,883

51,643
6,298
4,873
1,097
63,911

1,537
186
286
197
2,206
3.5%

1,535
232
219
167
2,153
35
(514)
1,674
(354)
1,320
–
1,320

1,322
(2)

1,284

1,958

(69.56)p

3.22p

0.81p

12.11p

13.55p

5.70p
1.16p
1,860
(716)
4.0%
(9.5%)
 8,481 
 9,353 
 3,885 
 21,719 
 28,415 

 6,849 
 95,811 
 480,607 
 362,370 

 3,710 
 45,946 
 225,192 
 169,757 

5.79p
–
 2,581 
1,482
6.2%
(11.8%)
 5,110 
 7,814 
 2,612 
 15,536 
 20,101 

 6,733 
 91,195 
 475,399 
 351,289 

 3,743 
 45,253 
 225,378 
 165,007 

 15.81 

 15.68 

7.30p
–
 2,278 
1,288
8.1%
(7.5%)
 3,729 
 7,440 
 5,504 
 16,673 
 19,262 

 6,809 
 89,041 
 464,520 
 342,770 

 3,739 
 43,610 
 218,522 
 172,486 

 16.31 

11.90p
3.00p
 2,773 
1,388
11.0%
8.7%
 2,625 
 6,931 
 2,728 
 12,284 
 19,452 

 7,033 
 92,983 
 448,988 
 327,916 

 3,952 
 42,032 
 210,312 
 183,804 

15.40p
3.67p
 2,502 
906
11.1%
10.2%
 2,863 
 6,999 
 2,338 
 12,200 
 24,683 

 6,993 
 91,298 
 464,505 
 321,490 

 3,961 
50,521 
 223,542 
 200,781 

17.36 

 18.65 

(a) 53 weeks. (b) Dividend per share relating to the interim and proposed final dividend. (c) See glossary for definitions. (d) Including franchise stores.

182

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

Shareholder information

Annual	General	Meeting	2019	(AGM).
This year’s AGM will be held on Thursday 13 June 2019 in the Heart 
building on our Welwyn Garden City campus. The meeting will start 
at 11.30am and registration will be open from 9.30am.

A separate notice convening the meeting has been sent to our 
shareholders, which includes details of the ordinary and special 
business to be considered at the meeting. A copy of the 
Notice of Meeting can be found on our website  
www.tescoplc.com/investors.
Managing	shares	online.
Many of our shareholders find that the easiest way to manage 
their shareholding is online by setting up a Shareview portfolio 
at www.shareview.co.uk. This is a free, easy and secure service 
provided by the Company’s registrars, Equiniti. 

Some of the benefits of having a Shareview portfolio are:

 – monitor your shareholding;

 – access shareholder information;

 – elect to receive shareholder communications electronically;

 – vote on the resolutions at the AGM, and any other shareholder 

meetings; and

 – keep your contact details up to date.

For more information and to register for this service, please visit 
www.shareview.co.uk. Registration can be completed within 
minutes in just four easy steps. Please note, you will need your 
Shareholder Reference Number. 
Dividend.
An interim dividend of 1.67 pence per share was paid on 
23 November 2018. Shareholders will be asked to approve a 
final dividend of 4.10 pence per share for the year ended 
23 February 2019 at this year’s AGM. If approved, this will be 
paid on 21 June 2019 to all shareholders on the Register of 
Members at the close of business on 17 May 2019. 

Dividends can be paid quickly and securely directly into your bank 
account instead of being dispatched to you by cheque. You may 
also choose to have your dividends reinvested in further Tesco 
shares through our dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) (terms and 
conditions apply). To arrange either of these options, simply call 
Equiniti on the number provided overleaf. Alternatively, you can 
manage your dividend payment choices by registering with 
Shareview at www.shareview.co.uk.
E-comms.
We encourage our shareholders to accept all shareholder 
communications and documents electronically, in place of 
receiving traditional paper copies by post. This helps us to 
reduce the environmental impact of our business and to reduce 
costs. If you would like to sign up to receive all future shareholder 
communications electronically, please register with Shareview by 
visiting www.shareview.co.uk. Once you have signed up, you will 
receive an email to let you know when shareholder documents 
become available on our website, including our annual and 
interim financial results, notices of shareholder meetings and 
other shareholder documents. Assistance to sign up to receive 
electronic communications will be available at the AGM.
Share dealing service.
Equiniti offer Shareview Dealing, which is a real-time telephone 
and internet share dealing service in Tesco PLC shares available 
to all UK residents.

Further information about the Shareview Dealing service can be 
found at www.shareview.co.uk/dealing or by calling 03456 037 037 
between 8.00am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Please remember that dealing fees vary between brokers and you 
are recommended to check that you are being charged the most 
competitive rate.

Tesco Share Account.
We offer our shareholders a service to help them hold and manage 
their Tesco shares in a safe and simple way. With the Tesco Share 
Account (TSA) you can enjoy the convenience and reassurance of 
holding shares electronically, avoiding the need to hold paper share 
certificates, which can be lost or stolen and expensive to replace.

The TSA also offers shareholders access to preferential dealing 
rates and up-to-date market information through the Equiniti 
Share Dealing service.

The TSA is a sponsored nominee service operated for Tesco by 
Equiniti Financial Services Limited (Equiniti Financial), which is 
authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 
When you join the TSA, your shares are registered in the name 
of Equiniti Corporate Nominees Limited and held on your behalf 
on a private register. You remain the beneficial owner of your 
shares and continue to have the right to receive shareholder 
communications, vote at general meetings and to receive any 
dividends paid on your shares.

It is completely free to participate in the TSA and there are no 
annual fees to pay (terms and conditions apply). If you would like 
to join the TSA please contact Equiniti Financial on 0371 3284 2977 
(or +44 121 415 7053 if outside of the UK).
Duplicate documents.
Some of our shareholders hold multiple accounts on the share 
register and therefore receive duplicate copies of shareholder 
documentation as a result. If you have been receiving duplicate 
copies of shareholder documentation, please contact Equiniti 
to arrange for your accounts to be combined. 
Changes to personal details.
In order to avoid missing important correspondence relating to your 
shareholding, please inform Equiniti as soon as possible if you have 
recently moved house or there are any changes to your bank details. 
Share price information.
Details of our current and historical share price data and other 
share price tools are available at www.tescoplc.com/investors.
American	Depositary	Receipts	(ADRs).
The Company has a sponsored Level 1 ADR programme for 
which J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. acts as depositary. The ADRs 
are traded in the US, where one ADR represents three ordinary 
shares. The ADR programme confers the right to receive 
dividends in US dollars. 

ADR details

Symbol
CUSIP
Exchange
Ratio
Effective Date

TSCDY
881575302
OTC
1:3
April 01, 1992

All enquiries relating to the ADR programme should be directed to:

Tesco PLC 
c/o JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. 
P.O. Box 64504 
St. Paul, MN 55164-0504

Email jpmorgan.adr@eq-us.com 
Telephone + 1 800 990 1135 
International +1 651 453 2128 (from outside US)  
Website www.adr.com
ShareGift.
If you have a small shareholding which would cost more to sell 
than the shares are worth, you may wish to consider donating 
the shares to the charity ShareGift (Registered Charity 1052686), 
a charity that specialises in the donation of such shares for good 
causes. There are no implications for capital gains tax purposes on 
gifts of shares to charity. Further information about ShareGift can 
be found by visiting www.sharegift.org or by calling 0207 930 3737.

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

183

Other informationShareholder information continued

Corporate website.
You can access the corporate website at www.tescoplc.com. 
The Tesco PLC corporate website provides useful information 
including annual reports, results announcements and share 
price data, as well as background information about the 
Company and current issues.

Shareholders are encouraged to sign up to receive email 
notification of results and press announcements as they are 
released by registering at www.tescoplc.com/investors/ 
regulatory-news/regulatory-news-email-alerts/.
Shareholder security.
In recent years, Tesco PLC has become aware that its shareholders 
have received unsolicited phone calls or correspondence concerning 
investment matters. These are typically from overseas-based 
‘brokers’ who target UK shareholders, offering to sell them what 
often turn out to be worthless or high risk shares in US or UK 
investments. These operations are commonly known as ‘boiler 
rooms’. These brokers can be very persistent and extremely 
persuasive. Shareholders are advised to be very wary of any 
unsolicited advice, offers to buy shares at a discount or offers of 
free company reports. Details of any share dealing facilities that we 
endorse are included in genuine mailings from us and on our website.

If you receive any unsolicited investment advice:

 – make sure you note the correct name of the person and the 

organisation and make a record of any other information they 
give you;

 – check the Financial Services Register by visiting  

register.fca.org.uk to see if the person and firm contacting 
you are authorised by the FCA;

 – search the list of unauthorised firms to avoid at www.fca.org.uk/

consumers/unauthorised-firms-individuals; and

 – report the matter to the FCA using the share fraud reporting 

form at www.fca.org.uk/consumers/report-scam-unauthorised-
firm or by calling the Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768. 

Information on the latest investment scams can be found at 
scamsmart.fca.org.uk/warninglist.
Share register analysis.
As at 23 February 2019, the Company had 9,793,496,561 shares 
in issue (24 February 2018: 8,192,116,619) and 246,725 registered 
holders of Ordinary shares (24 February 2018: 254,249). 
Shareholdings are analysed below.
Breakdown of shareholdings overall.

Range of shareholding
1 – 500
501 – 1,000
1,001 – 5,000

over 5,001
Total

Number  
of holdings
151,581
24,086
48,808

22,250
246,725

% of issued  
share capital
0.19%
0.18%
1.18%

98.45%
100.00%

Breakdown of shareholdings with over 5,001 shares.

Range of shareholding
5,001 – 10,000
10,001 – 50,000
50,001 – 100,000
100,001 – 500,000
500,001 – 1,000,000
1,000,001 – 5,000,000
5,000,001+

Total

Number  
of holdings
11,730
8,574
634
620
188
278
226

22,250

% of issued  
share capital
0.84%
1.64%
0.45%
1.46%
1.37%
6.50%
86.19%

98.45%

Number of  
shareholders

% of total 
shareholders

Number of  
Ordinary shares

% of issued  
share capital

240,513

6,212

97.48% 546,362,046

2.52% 9,247,134,515

5.58%

94.42%

Category of shareholders.

Private
Institutional and corporate

Useful contacts.
Tesco PLC registered office
Tesco House 
Shire Park 
Kestrel Way 
Welwyn Garden City 
AL7 1GA

Investor Relations
Investor Relations Department 
Tesco House 
Shire Park 
Kestrel Way 
Welwyn Garden City  
AL7 1GA 
Telephone +44 (0) 1707 912 922

Financial calendar 2019/20.

23 February 2019
Financial year end 
2018/19

Registrars
Equniti Limited 
Aspect House 
Spencer Road 
Lancing 
West Sussex 
BN99 6DA
Telephone (UK) 0371 384 2977  
(Outside UK) +44 (0) 121 415 7053  
Calls are charged at national rates. 
Calls from a mobile device may  
incur network extras.  
Website www.equiniti.co.uk

Group Company Secretary
Robert Welch

Corporate brokers
Barclays Bank PLC 
Citigroup Global Markets Limited

Independent auditors
Deloitte LLP

General queries
Switchboard +44 (0) 1992 632 222
Website www.tescoplc.com

2 October 2019
Interim results 
announcement

29 February 2020
Financial year end 
2019/20

February
2019

June
2019

October
2019

January 
2020

February 
2020

13 June 2019
Q1 trading statement and AGM
21 June 2019
Proposed payment date for final dividend

January 2020
Q3 and Christmas 
trading statement

184

Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019

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Explorer Premium Offset 90gsm and 120gsm, both 
papers are FSC® certified. Explorer Premium Offset 
is a brilliant white uncoated paper made from 
elemental chlorine free pulps.

Explorer Premium Offset benefits from the highest 
level of environmental certification, including  
FSC®-chain-of-custody and ISO 14001, which gives you 
the assurances you expect. The pulp is sourced from 
sustainably managed forests and other controlled sources.

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Tesco PLC 
Tesco House 
Shire Park 
Kestrel Way 
Welwyn Garden City 
AL7 1GA

www.tescoplc.com