Profit overstatement chaos rumbles on
Tesco is facing damages of £100m from investors who have said they have lost money after suspicious accounting irregularities made by the company.
Bentham Europe say the claim involves roughly 125 institutional funds.
Back in 2014, Tesco came under fire for overstating profits by £263m.
This was later looked into and the amount hit £326m when Tesco included previous accounts.
The inflated profit number was due to Tesco booking payments from suppliers before money was due.
Bentham Europe has said the legal action is set out to prove that Tesco misled its investors and breached the Financial Services and Markets Act.
Jeremy Marshall, chief investment officer of Bentham Europe, told the BBC: “The mis-statement of profits leading to a dramatic collapse in the Tesco share price caused substantial damage to many shareholders who manage money for thousands of investors,”
“Investors have a right to rely on statements made by companies to ensure that they correctly allocate capital.”
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