18 Apr 2013

British supermarket chain pulls out of US

3:05 pm on 18 April 2013

British supermarket giant Tesco is set to pull out of the United States after it failed to win over customers.

Profit at the world's third-largest supermarket group has fallen for the first time in almost 20 years, dropping 51% to £1.9 billion in 2012.

Tesco is exiting its US chain of 199 Fresh & Easy shops, which have never made a profit, at a cost of £1.2 billion, the BBC reports.

There was also a huge write-down in the value of Tesco's UK property portfolio.