In a bid to stabilise and boost profitability in its operations, Tesco is to sell two of its non-core assets. It intends to sell its Giraffe restaurant chain, which includes 54 restaurants, to Boparan Restaurants, which is owned by Ranjit Singh Boparan, the businessman behind 2 Sisters. Better known as the Chicken King, he has an estimated personal fortune of £850m (€1bn). He has just acquired Grove Turkeys in Monaghan, Ireland’s largest turkey producer, and is believed to be one of the interested parties in acquiring Dunbia, the meat company owned by the Dobson brothers.

In a separate transaction, Tesco is also proposing to sell its Turkish supermarket chain Kipa. Last year the supermarket giant had the biggest annual loss in its 97-year history where it made a loss of £6.4bn. It also wrote down the value of its business by £7bn. Net debt stood at £5.1bn at year end. This sale is expected to reduce debt by around £110m.