THE ISSA brothers have pledged to invest £100 million in cutting prices at Asda.

This follows the Blackburn-born billionaires’ takeover of the supermarket giant earlier this year.

The investment plan could see prices drop on a range of items including desserts and baking products, comes as an effort to lower prices at Asda in order to battle competitors such as German supermarket firms Aldi and Lidl and as part of a proposed £1 billion investment in the business over the next three years.

In a joint statement issued on taking over the firm, the brothers said: “Looking ahead, and subject to the required regulatory approvals, we look forward to working with our Asda colleagues to build an even stronger, more differentiated retailer, including through the investment of more than £1 billion in the next three years to further strengthen the business and its supply chain.

“We are also excited about the proposed integration of the Asda forecourts into EG’s established UK operations, which we believe would underpin the future growth of the combined network.”

Asda is one of the UK’s biggest employers, with more than 146,000 workers and more than 600 supermarkets, standalone petrol stations and Asda Living homewares stores.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa purchased the chain as part of a £6.8billion takeover deal alongside their partners TDR Capital.

However, Asda suppliers have warned that extra price cuts could see food producers squeezed, while the brothers’ plans to sell-off and lease back Asda distribution hubs has also proved controversial with unions seeking assurances on pay and conditions for workers in these hubs.

Meanwhile, the Issa brothers will have to wait until the end of April to put their plans into effect, with their takeover of Asda’s petrol forecourts still subject to approval by the Competition and Markets Authority.

In the meantime, they have sought to assure the public and investors that their strategy is the right way forward for the company.