Supermarket giant Asda - owned by Blackburn's billionaire Issa brothers - is investing £70 million in cutting its prices for 126 essential household items.

The retailer - taken over by siblings Mohsin and Zuber Issa in February 2021 - says the move will cut the cost of the key products by an average of 11 per cent.

The firm - the UK's third biggest supermarket chain which has stores across East Lancashire, including a major outlet in Grimshaw Park, Blackburn - says the investment in discounting the prices is worth £1.2m per week.

Staple products seeing price cuts include Asda Baked Beans down from 40p to 23p (a 39 per cent saving), Asda Strawberries 400g down from £2.50 to £2 and Asda Tuna Chunks down from 82p to 69p.

The fresh cuts from Asda come on the back of Aldi and Lidl Price Matches and weekly Mega Event Price Drops – all launched this year as part of the supermarket’s ongoing efforts to keep costs as low as possible for customers.

Since January 2024 almost £40m has been invested in reducing prices for customers through these initiatives.

The investment comes after the latest insight from the Asda Income Tracker shows that disposable income is growing again for UK families, with the average disposable income up £21.50 per week compared to last year.

However, insight also shows families are continuing to save any additional cash rather than spend – having seen savings eroded due to cost-of-living pressures.

Kris Comerford, chief commercial officer at Asda, said: “We know families are still working hard to make their budgets stretch as far as possible, which is why we’re investing even further in driving down the cost of everyday essential items – the things we know our customers are putting in their baskets week in, week out.

"Through this latest investment, alongside our existing Price Drops, Aldi Lidl Price Match, Fab 5 and our Asda Rewards programme, our customers can trust that they will get uncompromising value every day at Asda.”