Discounter Lidl has become the latest retailer to agree to waive the business rates relief it received at the start of the pandemic by repaying £100m to the government.
The grocer said it would return the £100m it received from the government, joining the likes of Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Asda and non-food essential retailers such as B&M and Pets at Home that have all made the same decision over the last few days.
Tesco sparked this rush to return business rates relief when it announced on Wednesday it would be repaying £585m in tax breaks to the government, which chief executive Ken Murphy called “absolutely the right thing to do”.
In its statement, Lidl said the relief at the beginning of the crisis had been “vital in allowing the discounter to make significant quick unplanned investments in its operations, infrastructure and people to manage customer demand”.
However, it noted that “as footfall in stores continues to grow, Lidl GB is well placed to manage any further changes to the business as a result of the pandemic and therefore has brought forward plans to return the relief”.
Lidl GB chief executive Christian Härtnagel said: “The business rates relief that was provided to us and the rest of the supermarket sector came with a lot of responsibility that we took extremely seriously.
“We’ve been considering this for some time, and we are now in a position to confirm that we will be refunding this money as we believe it is the right thing to do. We feel confident that the business is well-positioned to navigate and adapt to any further challenges brought by Covid-19.”
While many essential retailers have followed Tesco in repaying the relief, some have continued to hold out. Waitrose and Poundland have both confirmed they will not be repaying, while convenience chain the Co-op said it will wait until the end of the financial year before making a decision.
Frozen-food specialist Iceland has yet to make an announcement either way.
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