Tesco in talks to scale down in Turkey as sales slump

Tesco is looking to reduce its exposure to Turkey following underperforming sales, as chief executiv…

Tesco is looking to reduce its exposure to Turkey following underperforming sales, as chief executive Phil Clarke comes under increasing pressure to turn around the embattled retailer.

Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, which operates in Turkey under the Kipa brand, is understood to have held talks with the London private equity house BC Partners, which is the majority owner of the Migros supermarket group.

Tesco is believed to have sketched out a plan to merge its Turkish assets with those held by BC Partners, which is considering its options for Migros six years after buying a majority stake in Turkey’s largest retailer for $3.25bn (£1.95bn).

The proposed merger would effectively help Tesco exit Turkey, where sales slumped 3.5pc in the third quarter of 2013, against a backdrop of declining sales in each of the supermarket group’s international markets.

Discussions are understood to be at an early stage, but Tesco paved the way for an exit deal last month, when it moved its Kipa stores into a separate company.