Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has described his decision to invest in Tesco as a "huge mistake".
Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway firm owns a 3.7% stake in Tesco, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But the supermarket's share price has fallen to an 11-year low this year on the back of declining sales and an investigation into its accounts.
"I made a mistake on Tesco. That was a huge mistake by me," the legendary investor told CNBC. Mr Buffett is known for taking long-term bets on established companies rather than investing in riskier stocks.
His portfolio of investments include well-known names like Coca-Cola, IBM and American Express. Berkshire Hathaway began building a stake in Tesco in 2006, and by 2012 owned more than 5% of the business.
By the end of 2013 the stake had fallen to 3.7%, but still represented an investment of nearly $1.7bn. But since then Tesco's share price has fallen nearly 50%, cutting the paper value of the investment in half.
Tesco has seen declining sales amid increased competition from discount retailers like Aldi and Lidl, and growth of high-end offerings from Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.
It has issued a string of profit warnings, and shocked investors last week when it revealed it had overstated its expected half-year profits by £250m.
The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed it is investigating the issue, following the launch of an internal investigation and the suspension of senior members of staff.
bbc.com
Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway firm owns a 3.7% stake in Tesco, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But the supermarket's share price has fallen to an 11-year low this year on the back of declining sales and an investigation into its accounts.
"I made a mistake on Tesco. That was a huge mistake by me," the legendary investor told CNBC. Mr Buffett is known for taking long-term bets on established companies rather than investing in riskier stocks.
His portfolio of investments include well-known names like Coca-Cola, IBM and American Express. Berkshire Hathaway began building a stake in Tesco in 2006, and by 2012 owned more than 5% of the business.
By the end of 2013 the stake had fallen to 3.7%, but still represented an investment of nearly $1.7bn. But since then Tesco's share price has fallen nearly 50%, cutting the paper value of the investment in half.
Tesco has seen declining sales amid increased competition from discount retailers like Aldi and Lidl, and growth of high-end offerings from Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.
It has issued a string of profit warnings, and shocked investors last week when it revealed it had overstated its expected half-year profits by £250m.
The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed it is investigating the issue, following the launch of an internal investigation and the suspension of senior members of staff.
bbc.com
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