The John Lewis Partnership has agreed to a five-year brand and sourcing agreement with Ocado and transferred its stake in the online grocer to its pension fund.
The partnership has transferred its 29 per cent stake in Ocado, which was valued at£128 million, to the John Lewis Partnership pension fund.
In a statement, the John Lewis Partnership said that it has “been looking at a number of ways to simplify its relationship with Ocado and move from being both a shareholder and a supplier to Ocado to a supplier and commercial partner”.
The transfer of the stake in Ocado will allow, among other things, the Waitrose management to expand Waitrose’s other online ventures Waitrose Deliver and Waitrose Entertaining.
The John Lewis Partnership partners will benefit from any upside to Ocado’s valuation and its pension scheme will be more secure following the addition of the asset.
John Lewis Partnership chairman Charlie Mayfield said: “Ocado is a remarkable success story, having developed from a standing start into a£320 million turnover business in just eight years.
“We believe that now is the right time for us to simplify and clarify our relationship with Ocado. The structure of the transaction we are announcing today is an effective way of achieving that, while still allowing our partners to benefit from any future increase in Ocado’s value.”
No comments yet