Tesco’s Turkish unit sells 95.5 percent of its shares to Migros

The sale includes 54 standalone restaurants, of which 12 are franchise sites, and three restaurants within Tesco stores.

Tesco bought Giraffe for around £49m back in 2013 but has not been able to help the restaurant become profitable.

The retail giant confirmed it will sell the chain to Boparan, whose company is the country’s largest chicken supplier.

Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis, who took over in 2014 to turn the retailer around, has been selling off a string of businesses, including its South Korean chain, to cut debts and focus on the core United Kingdom retail business.

In a separate deal, Tesco also announced its intention to sell the Giraffe restaurant chain to Boparan Restaurants Holdings Limited.

Britain’s biggest retailer, supermarket group Tesco, said Friday it was selling its Turkish business as its global arm focuses on its operations in Central Europe and Southeast Asia.

“Tesco is receiving only £30m for Kipa from Migros, a business which we estimate lost about £40-45m in full-year 2016”, said Shore Capital in a note. It removes the need for the sustained investment required to enable the business to compete independently, allowing us to focus on improving profitability in Central Europe and continuing to grow our businesses in South East Asia.

As of 08:18 BST, Tesco’s share price had lost 1.33 percent to 155.80p, underperforming the broader London market, with the FTSE 100 index now 0.78 percent worse off at 6,182.95 points.

The disposals are part of Tesco CEO’s plans to revive the grocer’s fortunes by shedding businesses and brands which either dilute the supermarket’s margins or act as a distraction from its principal revival mission.