Former chief executives of Debenhams and Asda are understood to be working with private equity groups on a bid for the supermarket chain.

Rob Templeman, who previously ran Debenhams as a private and publicly listed business, is on board with Apollo Global Management as it weighs up an offer for Walmart-owned Asda, Sky News reported. 

Templeman has previously headed up Halfords, Homebase and Harveys.

Lone Star Funds is working with Paul Mason on a potential bid for Asda, which he ran before heading to Matalan and Somerfield, and then chairing retailers including Cath Kidston and Dr Martens.

Asda may attract a price tag of as much as £6.5bn. After a planned merger with rival Sainsbury’s was derailed by the competition authorities, Walmart said it would pursue a majority stake sale or IPO instead. 

A third potential private equity bidder, TDR Capital, is also thought to be casting its slide rule over Asda.

Earlier this week, Asda reported a 3.8% increase in like-for-like sales in the second quarter. 

Asda intends to build online delivery capacity to 1 million slots a week by next year after online sales doubled in the period, as the coronavirus pandemic sparked a change in shopper behaviour.

Chief executive Roger Burnley said the outbreak had “created a structural shift in customer behaviours towards grocery shopping”.

The latest Kantar grocery retail data showed that Asda’s market share edged down 0.6% to 14.3% in the 12 weeks to August 9.

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