LONDON: Britain's third largest supermarket group Asda, now owned by the Issa brothers and private equity group TDR, on Thursday reported a 5.1% rise in same store sales in its Christmas quarter, driven by strong demand for premium ranges.

The outcome compared with a third quarter increase of 2.7 %.

The buyers completed the purchase of a majority holding in Asda from Walmart on Tuesday in a deal giving it an enterprise value of 6.8 billion pounds ($9.5 billion). The deal still requires approval from the UK competition regulator.