Asda staff set for £62m windfall from share scheme

The Leeds-based grocer has received the windfall due to a strong return from the company’s Save As You Earn scheme, which allowed for staff to save between £5 and £300 from their salary each month for three years starting in 2016.

After that three-year saving period, staff were then able to buy shares in Asda’s parent company Walmart at a 20% discount. Since 2016, Walmart shares have more than doubled, from £36.99 to £87.12 per share at the maturity date of July 1, 2019.

A staff member putting aside an average of £70 per month would have saved £2,520 over three years but received £5,924 in their bank account.

Staff from the retailer who saved the maximum £300 a month would receive £25,353.

Asda senior vice president of people Hayley Tatum said: “Giving our colleagues the chance to save each month, risk-free, is just one of our ways of saying thank you and a great way to ensure that they reap the rewards of their exceptional efforts.”

The grocer reported a fall in like-for-like sales over Easter, despite achieving double-digit growth across Asda.com and George.com.

Following the Competition and Markets Authority blocking Asda’s proposed merger with Sainsbury’s in March, Walmart said it would consider an IPO for the grocer as it eyed an exit from the UK grocery market.