Customers 'feeling it' at till after business tax rises - Asda boss

New business taxes mean "the consumer is feeling it" as companies pass on their costs to shoppers, according to the boss of Asda.

- Sarah Butler

However, Allan Leighton said the supermarket chain was investing to keep a lid on prices and attract cash-strapped shoppers.

The UK's third largest supermarket chain, which is at risk of being overtaken by the discounter Aldi, said sales fell by 0.2% to £5.3bn in the three months to 30 June.

The decline was less steep than in the previous quarter after the retailer made a "material investment" in keeping prices down. An 8.6% rise in sales at Asda Express convenience stores and a 2.5% rise in George fashion sales helped boost the numbers.

Leighton, who last year returned to Asda as executive chair to help turn the firm around 20 years after he first rescued it, told the Guardian: "A lot of taxes are hitting down on businesses and that's flowing through to the consumer and the consumer is feeling it."