Tesco Faces Fresh Investor Suit Over 2014 Scandal

The supermarket chain is set to file its defense against Manning & Napier's claim.

Author:: Edward Hardy
Publish date:: Jan 25, 2017 5:55 AM EST

The U.K.'s largest supermarket, Tesco (TSCDY) , is facing a fresh suit by investors over its 2014 accounting scandal, leading to one of the FTSE 100's biggest declines on Wednesday.

The company has said that it is aware of the claim by Manning & Napier and will file a defense shortly. The U.S. fund manager is thought to have lost around $212 million because Tesco overstated its profits. Tesco is already fighting a £100 million ($125 million) claim that was filed in October 2016 by 125 institutional investors.

The scandal stretches back to September 2014, when Tesco admitted that it had overstated profits by £250 million in its interim results. In the aftermath of this revelation, executives were suspended and the company's share price plummeted. The executives in question are set to stand trial in September on fraud charges. A Serious Fraud Office investigation remains open.