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LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Supermarket group Tesco
has agreed to increase healthy food options at operations in
Europe as well as Britain to appease investors who had filed a
landmark shareholder resolution to force the issue.
The coalition of Tesco activist investors calling for
Britain's biggest supermarket group to set targets to sell a
greater proportion of healthy food withdrew their shareholder
meeting resolution on Wednesday after the company's pledge.
Investment group ShareAction co-ordinated the February
filing of the resolution by institutional investors including
Robeco, J O Hambro and the Guy's and St. Thomas’ health charity,
as well as 101 individual Tesco shareholders.
The move represented the first health-based shareholder
resolution filed at a UK-listed company.
It initially prompted Tesco, which has a 27% share of the UK
grocery market, to commit to increase sales of healthy products
from 58% to 65% of total sales in its UK and Irish stores by
2025.
However, ShareAction kept its resolution on the table to
encourage Tesco to take similar steps with its Central European
stores and its Booker wholesale subsidiary, which supplies
supermarket chains Budgens and Londis.
Given that Tesco has now agreed to do this, ShareAction has
withdrawn the resolution.
It said a two-year process of engagement has now been agreed
between Tesco, ShareAction and investors in the Healthy Markets
Coalition, with Tesco implementing new commitments covering 52
billion pounds ($72 billion) of revenue.
“Investors are recognising the importance of health," said
Louisa Hodge, engagement manager at ShareAction.
"By filing a shareholder resolution, our investor coalition
sent a strong message to Tesco and to other supermarkets that
shifting sales toward healthier options is important."
Tesco said it shared the same goal as ShareAction to make it
easier for customers to eat more healthily.
"These new commitments will ensure that every customer –
wherever and however they shop with us – will have even greater
access to affordable, healthy and sustainable food," said Sarah
Bradbury, Tesco's group quality director.
($1 = 0.7210 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey
Editing by David Goodman)
