Tesco returns £585m rates relief

Supermarket chain Tesco has announced that it is repaying the £585 million worth of business rates relief that it received as support during the coronavirus pandemic, the BBC reports.

The supermarket giant said the help to retailers had been a "game-changer" and hugely important at the time.

However, it added that its business had proven "resilient" and it had now decided to return the money in full.

"We will work with the UK government and devolved administrations on the best means of doing that," it said.

Business rates relief was extended to all retailers as part of a package of measures announced in March.

At that time, there was "a real and immediate risk to the ability of supermarkets to feed the nation", Tesco said.