Tesco Completes £355m Korean Sale And Leaseback Deal

UK supermarket operator Tesco today announced a sale and leaseback agreement for four of its stores…

UK supermarket operator Tesco today announced a sale and leaseback agreement for four of its stores in South Korea in a deal worth more than £355 million.

The deal, with real estate group Samsung SRA, with whom the British supermarket giant went into business with back in 1999, relates to four stores under the Homeplus discount retail brand along with accompanying mall space, Tesco said.

"Following the successful sale and leaseback of four Homeplus stores in August 2012, this announcement further demonstrates the underlying value of our operations in Korea and the attractiveness of our property and business to investors," the company said.

This morning, Tesco shares were unchanged at 330 pence, valuing the company at £26.68 billion.

Homeplus in South Korea is Tesco's largest international business with revenue of over £5 billionn in 2012/13.

It has more than 550 stores in South Korea and employs over 26,000 people.