Ocado POLITICAL

Research date: 2 November 2026. Findings are limited to pages opened in this session or in the prior runs it extends. Items older than five years are flagged [pre-2020]. This is a data record with no scoring or conclusions. ¹

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

Statements. No public evidence identified of any official Ocado Group or Ocado Retail statement about the Israel–Palestine conflict in the pages reviewed, which include the company’s own about page. ¹

Third-party pressure. A change.org petition created on 8 October 2025 lists Ocado among its decision makers, alongside Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and the Food Standards Agency. ² The petition text does not name Ocado. It asks producers and retailers to disclose ingredient origin, suspend sourcing ingredients from Israel and label country of origin. ² The page shows no Ocado response and an empty updates section at the date of retrieval. ²

Comparative silence. The Ocado statement found on a major geopolitical issue is a branding act: in March 2022 the retailer redesigned the “Zoom by Ocado” logo after critics likened its “Z” to markings on Russian military vehicles in Ukraine. ³ no public evidence identified of a comparable act or public comment on Gaza or Palestinian civilian harm. ³ This is a record of observed acts, not an assessment. ³

Domestic policy commentary by the CEO (not Israel-related). An article dated 18 July 2025 reports that Tim Steiner blamed the Chancellor’s tax rises for higher food prices, linking higher employer National Insurance contributions and a 6.7% minimum wage rise to price pressure in food production, distribution and retailing. ⁴ The article quotes him: “You can’t increase the cost of labour in food production, food distribution and food retailing in the way that we have” and “Am I surprised to see inflation coming through? Of course not”. ⁴ The page places the remarks alongside Ocado’s half-year results but does not identify the channel (interview, results statement or call), so the channel is not established from the page cited. ⁴ The remarks are about UK labour-cost policy and say nothing about Israel or Palestine. ⁴

Market framing. Ocado Group describes itself as a technology company with three business areas (Ocado Logistics, Technology Solutions and Ocado Retail), and its mission statement is “Our mission is to change the way the world shops for good.” ¹ The page lists 15 online grocery partners (Aeon, Alcampo, Asda, Auchan Retail Poland, Bon Preu, Coles, Groupe Casino, ICA, Kroger, Lotte, Morrisons, Nemlig, Ocado, Panda, Sobeys), none of them Israeli. ¹ The page does not mention Israel. ¹

Constructive notice. No public evidence identified of Israel-related political conduct by Ocado before or after July 2024 (ICJ advisory opinion) or November 2024 (ICC warrants) in the pages reviewed. ^{1, 5} The company’s dated public acts after those events that were found are commercial or governance matters: the Asda announcement of 29 May 2026, the 2025 and 2026 AGMs, and the reported end of the claim against M&S in July 2026. ^{6, 7, 8, 9}

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Territorial presence. No public evidence identified of Ocado Group or Ocado Retail operations, equipment sales, service contracts or dealerships in the occupied Palestinian territory or Israeli settlements. ¹ The Ocado Smart Platform partners listed on the company’s page are in Japan, Spain, Poland, Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, France, Sweden, Denmark, Malaysia and South Korea by name of retailer, and none is Israeli. ¹ A dedicated Ocado page on the Auchan Retail Poland partnership describes a March 2022 agreement, an April 2024 rollout of In-Store Fulfilment software and a November 2025 fulfilment centre near Warsaw, with no Israel link. ¹⁰ A targeted search in this run found no Israeli partner, customer or supplier of Ocado’s robotics or platform business. ^{1, 10}

Asda arrangement (2027). Ocado and Asda announced on 29 May 2026 a deal under which Ocado’s online tools will replace and upgrade Asda’s existing e-commerce infrastructure from 2027, with go-live early 2027. ^{6, 11} The scope reported covers the webshop, in-store fulfilment, last-mile route planning and aggregator orders (Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat). ^{6, 12} The sources opened do not name the system displaced. ¹¹ Aldi appears in these reports only as a competitor (Asda 11.5% market share against Aldi 10.8%, per Kantar figures quoted). ⁶ no public evidence identified of an Ocado–Aldi 2027 arrangement. ^{6, 11}

Legal and regulatory scrutiny. The boycott and corporate-action timeline compiled by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (2023 to January 2025) lists companies such as Starbucks, Puma, AXA, McDonald’s, Pret A Manger, Intel and Carrefour, and does not list Ocado. ⁵ The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s report on the UN Human Rights Office update of 26 September 2025 (158 enterprises from 11 countries, report A/HRC/60/19) names example companies including Israeli banks, telecoms, construction, transport and retail firms, and does not name Ocado or any UK grocery retailer among them. ^{13, 14} no public evidence identified that Ocado Group or Ocado Retail is named in the UN settlement-business database. ¹³ no public evidence identified in the pages reviewed of a regulatory action, court case or OECD complaint naming Ocado on settlement-related grounds. ^{5, 13}

Boycott and civil-society history. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign boycott push reported on 23 March 2025 named Waitrose and Sainsbury’s as targets, not Ocado. ¹⁵ A Telegraph report of 29 August 2025 on falling Israeli food imports (down 17% in the first half of 2025) names Co-op, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s as targets of activism and Asda, Lidl, Marks & Spencer and Tesco as chains threatened with legal action by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians over West Bank settlement products. ¹⁶ The report does not name Ocado. ¹⁶ An Al Jazeera report of 16 February 2026 on European boycotts of Israeli goods names Tesco and Co-op UK among UK retailers and does not name Ocado. ¹⁷ A December 2023 report of BDS stickers on Sabra hummus in UK supermarkets does not mention Ocado. ¹⁸ Corporate Watch’s 2016 report “Apartheid in the fields” (published 18 March 2016) [pre-2020] concerns UK supermarkets and does not mention Ocado in the page opened. ¹⁹ A January 2013 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre item [pre-2020] says Mehadrin labelled produce from the Beqa’ot settlement “produce of Israel”, names Tesco and the Co-operative Group, and does not name Ocado. ²⁰ Whether any ongoing campaign targets Ocado beyond the October 2025 petition listing: no public evidence identified. ²

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

Employee relations. No public evidence identified of reports, controversies or legal actions concerning Ocado’s HR enforcement on employee speech, political symbols or union activity related to Israel–Palestine. ^{21, 22} The one UK grocery workplace case found in this run, a Tesco worker in Northern Ireland suspended and later reinstated in January 2026, does not involve Ocado. ¹⁷

Platform and editorial policy. No public evidence identified of independent reports or regulatory inquiries on algorithmic moderation or editorial stance related to the conflict. Ocado’s platform business is e-commerce, fulfilment and logistics software for grocers. ¹

Retail and supply chain practices. Ocado Retail’s sustainability page states a commitment to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, requires Own Brand suppliers to follow an Ethical Sourcing Code of Practice and Sedex membership, and reports engagement with 9 high-risk Sedex suppliers and 43 suppliers in high-risk supply chains. ²² The page does not mention Israel, the West Bank or settlements. ²² no public evidence identified of a regulatory action or independent report on labelling or sourcing of settlement-origin products at Ocado. ^{20, 19, 16} The sourcing of Israeli-origin brands (for example Mehadrin, Yehuda, Telma) by Ocado Retail: no public evidence identified in pages that could be opened. ²⁰

Israeli-origin supplier listed on Ocado. Redefine Meat, described by vegconomist as an “Israel-based producer”, launched in UK retail through Ocado on 22 November 2023 with six products priced at £4.00 to £4.50 a pack. ²³ Ocado’s buying manager Olivia Small is quoted as saying “We’re pleased to be the first retailer in the UK to sell Redefine Meat”. ²⁴ The pages opened give no production site, and whether the listing continues in 2026 is unknown. ^{24, 23} This is a record of a commercial supply relationship, with no stated settlement link. ^{24, 23}

Sourcing change. Ocado stopped selling Waitrose own-brand groceries in September 2020 and Ocado Retail’s sourcing moved to Marks & Spencer. ^{21, 25} The 2019 joint-venture terms say the venture gains access to M&S brand and products from September 2020 at the latest. ²⁵ M&S reports that M&S products drove sales on Ocado.com, up 17.7% to more than £1bn in the 52 weeks to 28 March 2026. ²⁶

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

Marketing positioning. No public evidence identified of Ocado using military heritage, defense-sector ties or state-security origins in branding. Ocado was founded in 2000 by Jonathan Faiman, Jason Gissing and Tim Steiner. ²¹ Steiner previously worked for about eight years as a bond trader at Goldman Sachs. ²⁷

Institutional ties and sponsorships. Steiner holds an OBE. ²⁷ no public evidence identified of hosting Israeli government officials, partnerships with Israeli state institutions, or sponsorship of “Brand Israel” campaigns. ^{1, 27}

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

Political lobbying. No public evidence identified of Ocado lobbying on Israel-Palestine policy, boycott legislation or trade with Israel. ¹ The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ministerial meeting logs record Ocado at a 27 February 2023 meeting with Secretary of State Therese Coffey on the UK fresh fruit and vegetable supply, and Ocado Retail at a 14 March 2023 meeting on the agri-food chain, alongside other grocers and suppliers. ²⁸ The April to June 2025 and July to September 2025 logs list no Ocado entry. ^{29, 30} These meetings concern food supply and have no stated Israel-Palestine content. ²⁸

Political donations authority (AGM votes). At the 29 April 2025 AGM, Resolution 16, “Authority for political donations and political expenditure”, received 614,547,325 votes for (94.37%) and 36,633,098 against (5.63%), with 96,351 votes withheld. ⁷ At the 28 April 2026 AGM, the same resolution (Resolution 16) was passed as an ordinary resolution with 570,000,727 votes for (95.50%) and 26,853,943 against (4.50%), with 635,663 votes withheld. ^{8, 31} The 2026 AGM was held on 28 April 2026 and all 22 resolutions passed. ³² The Annual Report and Notice of AGM for the 52 weeks ended 30 November 2025 were published on 5 March 2026. ^{33, 34} no public evidence identified in readable pages of the amount of political donations or political expenditure disclosed in the 2025 Annual Report. ^{33, 35, 34, 36} no public evidence identified that these authorities were used for Israel-related purposes. ^{7, 8}

Financial contributions. No public evidence identified of Ocado Group or Ocado Retail donations to the IDF, FIDF, JNF, settlement groups or military-welfare funds. ²² The Ocado Retail sustainability page opened names only the charity Unseen (modern slavery helpline, partnership from 2022) among charitable partners and gives no donation amounts. ²²

Crisis asset mobilization. No public evidence identified of Ocado directing resources, logistics or free services to the Israeli state or military during the conflict. ¹

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Ownership. Ocado Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the FTSE 250. ²¹ no public evidence identified of a golden share, a state shareholding or a charter mission tied to a state’s geopolitical goals. ²¹ Wikipedia notes that the John Lewis Partnership held 29% in Ocado, moved it into its pension fund in 2008 and sold its entire holding in February 2011 [pre-2020] (discontinued). ²¹ A June 2026 report cited on the same page says some shareholders want Steiner replaced as CEO. ²¹ Ocado announced that Steiner will remain chief executive until the start of its 2028 financial year, then take a founder role through 2029 (article date not retrievable). ³⁷

Substantial shareholders (UK disclosures). Lingotto Investment Management LLP notified on 12 August 2025 a total voting-rights position of 16.21% (9.76% attached to shares and 6.45% through financial instruments), after crossing a threshold on 8 August 2025. ³⁸ Morgan Stanley’s notification reported 6.16% (3.55% shares and 2.62% instruments), down from 7.02%, after a threshold crossing on 2 February 2026. ³⁹ No holder at or above 10% other than the Lingotto position was identified in readable pages. ^{39, 38} The state of these holdings after those dates is unknown. ^{39, 38}

Ocado Retail joint venture and the 2019 consideration. Ocado Retail is a 50:50 joint venture of Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer Group, which Ocado Group’s own page states. ¹ M&S’s results announcement of 20 May 2026 repeats that Ocado Retail is a joint venture “50% owned by M&S and 50% by Ocado Group”. ²⁶ The announcement terms of 27 February 2019 [pre-2020] were: total consideration of up to £750 million, of which £562.5 million was payable on completion and up to £187.5 million plus interest was payable five years after completion, subject to agreed financial and operational targets; a four-seat board with two seats each; M&S holds the chair and Ocado appoints the chief executive for five years. ²⁵ The completion disclosure carried by MarketScreener records completion on 5 August 2019 [pre-2020] with initial consideration of £560.9 million in cash and contingent consideration of £202.4 million, and describes the deferred amount as payable five years after completion depending on the satisfaction of certain financial and operational targets. ⁴⁰ The pages opened do not explain the difference between the announced £562.5 million and the £560.9 million recorded at completion. ^{25, 40} Whether the five-year chief executive appointment right has lapsed since August 2024: no public evidence identified. ²⁵

Status of the deferred payment (2024 to 2026). In March 2024 Ocado said Covid-19 decisions justified revising the performance criteria, sought a “substantial sum” above the £28 million auditors had suggested and threatened legal action, while M&S said Ocado Retail’s 2023 financial performance did not meet the contractual requirements. ⁴¹ An M&S corporate page, whose date is not stated in the retrieved text, says M&S regards the target as binary and not met, values the payment at zero for accounting purposes and is confident in its position if the matter goes to legal action. ⁴² Ocado Group’s half-year results announcement of 16 July 2026 shows a contingent consideration receivable of “£nil (FY25: £0.7m)”. ⁴³ M&S’s results announcement of 20 May 2026 contains no text on a final payment in the portions that could be read, and its contingent and deferred consideration lines relate to Gist Limited. ²⁶ On 28 July 2026 City AM and Retail Systems reported, citing The Times and unnamed sources, that both sides had drawn a line under the dispute with no final payment, that the final instalment was £190.7 million, and that Ocado “is now understood to have dropped” its pursuit. ^{9, 44} Neither company confirmed this on the record in those reports: an Ocado spokesperson said “we remain focused on realising the significant potential of the Ocado Retail business” and an M&S spokeswoman said “We have a good relationship with Ocado”. ^{9, 44} This supersedes the earlier description of the payment as disputed as of 2026. ^{9, 44}

Accounting treatment. Ocado Group’s accounts reclassified Ocado Retail as an associate from 7 April of the 2025 reporting period, giving a non-cash gain of £783 million and equity-method accounting. ⁴⁵ M&S states that the change of consolidation of Ocado Retail from Ocado Group to M&S took effect on 6 April 2025, that M&S obtained control on that date, and that it carries interest payable to Ocado Group on shareholder loans. ²⁶ no public evidence identified in the pages that could be opened of a £90 million loan to Ocado Retail from Ocado and a similar-sized loan from M&S. ^{26, 43} The 50:50 ownership is confirmed as current in 2026. ^{1, 26}

Group attribution: Marks & Spencer Group (50% owner of Ocado Retail). Historic M&S Israel material [pre-2020] is found, with current status unknown: a Globes report dated 2 December 1997 said M&S Israel stores were closing, with the concession-holding company owned 70% by Blue Square, 20% by Northern Co-op and 10% by Co-op Jerusalem. ⁴⁶ A Globes report dated 4 November 1999 said M&S planned to reopen in Israel within two to three months with an unnamed Israeli partner. ⁴⁷ These pages do not state any current M&S operation in Israel. ^{47, 46} The Telegraph report of 29 August 2025 names M&S among the chains the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians threatened with legal action over West Bank settlement products. ¹⁶ no public evidence identified of an M&S statement on Gaza in the pages reviewed. ^{47, 46, 16}

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Personal philanthropy and financing. Wikipedia states Tim Steiner donated £50,000 to the Conservative Party during the 2019 UK general election [pre-2020]. ²⁷ The same article reports a pay package of £58.7 million for the year to 1 December 2019 and net worth of £403 million (Sunday Times Rich List 2020) and mentions no charitable giving. ²⁷ no public evidence identified of personal donations by Steiner to IDF, FIDF, JNF/KKL, settlement bodies or military-welfare funds. ²⁷

Public advocacy and statements. No public evidence identified of public statements, op-eds or social-media activity by Steiner on the Israel–Palestine conflict. ²⁷ His documented public commentary found in these runs concerns UK tax and labour costs (July 2025) and the M&S payment (a 2024 shareholder statement that Ocado was “very confident” it was owed a substantial sum, as quoted in July 2026 reporting). ^{4, 44}

Board memberships and affiliations. The Wikipedia biography lists Steiner’s roles at Ocado and Goldman Sachs and an OBE, with no board seats in pro-Israel advocacy, lobbying or state-aligned academic bodies. ²⁷ no public evidence identified for other Ocado directors in the pages opened. ²¹

Named-entity record.

• Ocado Group plc (target; parent of Ocado Logistics and Technology Solutions): searched for Israel, Palestine, settlement, boycott, donation, lobbying, statement; searched, none found. ^{1, 7, 8}
• Ocado Retail Ltd (50:50 joint venture): searched for the same topics; the Israel-adjacent items are the Ocado listing on the 8 October 2025 petition (sourcing demand) and the Redefine Meat supply listing of November 2023. ^{2, 22, 23}
• Marks & Spencer Group plc (50% owner of Ocado Retail): searched; only pre-2020 Israel-store history with current status unknown, and the 2025 legal-threat naming by a third party. ^{47, 46, 16}
• Tim Steiner (founder and Chief Executive): searched for Israel, Gaza, Palestine, statement, donation and visit; only the £50,000 Conservative donation and UK tax commentary found, and a search in this run returned only succession coverage. ^{27, 4}
• Jonathan Faiman (co-founder, left before the 2010 flotation): searched; none found. ²¹
• Jason Gissing (co-founder, left 2014): searched; none found. ²⁷
• John Lewis Partnership (former 29% holder, sold 2011): searched; none found. ²¹
• Lingotto Investment Management LLP (16.21% voting-rights holder, August 2025): searched with Israel, Gaza and settlements; searched, none found. ³⁸
• Morgan Stanley (6.16% holder, February 2026; below 10%): holding notice reviewed; no separate Israel-topic search was run. ³⁹
• Asda (OSP customer from 2027): searched; none found beyond the commercial deal. ⁶
• Auchan Retail Poland (OSP partner): searched; none found. ¹⁰
• Mehadrin (Israeli exporter named in settlement-labelling reports): searched against Ocado; the 2013 item names Tesco, not Ocado. ²⁰
• Redefine Meat (Israel-based supplier listed on Ocado from November 2023): searched against Ocado; a commercial listing was found and no political act. ^{24, 23}

Act record.

• Act: donation of £50,000 to the Conservative Party. Acting entity: Tim Steiner (an individual, not Ocado Group plc). Recipient: Conservative Party. Channel: en.wikipedia.org (secondary page; primary Electoral Commission record not retrieved). Observed: 2019 general election [pre-2020], single event. Status: ended or unknown, no continuing evidence. Relevance to Israel: none stated. ²⁷
• Act: listing of Ocado as a decision maker on a petition about sourcing from Israel. Acting entity: the petition author (a third party), not Ocado. Channel: change.org. Created 8 October 2025, earliest and latest observation 2 November 2026 (no updates on page). Status: unknown; audience not stated; no Ocado response shown. ²
• Act: Zoom logo redesign. Acting entity: Ocado (exact legal entity not stated on page). Channel: thedrum.com article dated 25 March 2022. Status: ended. Relevance: Ukraine war imagery. ³
• Act: Asda technology partnership. Acting entity: Ocado Group (contracting entity not stated). Recipient: Asda. Channel: Ocado Group about page and trade press (cityam.com, retailtechinnovationhub.com, hortidaily.com), announced 29 May 2026. Status: announced; rollout from early 2027. ^{1, 6, 11, 12}
• Act: Ocado Retail joint venture with M&S. Acting entities: Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer Group (the pages do not give exact legal names). Channel: retail-systems.com (27 February 2019 [pre-2020]), marketscreener.com (completion disclosure, 5 August 2019 [pre-2020]), ocadogroup.com (current) and marketscreener.com copy of the M&S results announcement (20 May 2026). Status: continuing in 2026. ^{1, 25, 26, 40}
• Act: M&S contingent consideration claim by Ocado Group. Acting entities: Ocado Group (claimant) and Marks & Spencer Group (payer; the pages do not give exact legal names). Recipient: Ocado Group. Channels: retail-insightnetwork.com (1 March 2024), cityam.com and retail-systems.com (28 July 2026), marketscreener.com copy of Ocado’s HY26 results (16 July 2026). Earliest observation: 1 March 2024 (dispute live). Latest observation: 28 July 2026 (reported dropped). Status: reported ended without payment on press sources citing The Times; not confirmed by either company on the record; Ocado’s balance sheet carries a nil receivable at 16 July 2026. Relevance to Israel: none stated. ^{9, 44, 41, 43}
• Act: shareholder authority for political donations and political expenditure. Acting entity: Ocado Group plc, by AGM resolution. Recipient: none stated. Channel: RNS announcements of results of AGM, carried on ticker.app and financialreports.eu. Observed: 29 April 2025 (Resolution 16, 94.37% for) and 28 April 2026 (Resolution 16, 95.50% for). Status: authority passed in both years, current for the year following 28 April 2026 on its terms, which were not retrievable. ^{7, 8, 31}
• Act: CEO commentary attributing food-price rises to the Budget, employer National Insurance and the minimum wage. Acting entity: Tim Steiner as Chief Executive of Ocado Group. Recipient/audience: public via media; channel not identified on the cited page (notltd.co.uk, article of 18 July 2025). Observed: July 2025, single reported occasion. Status: ended as a one-off statement; any later repetition unknown. ⁴
• Act: Ocado attendance at government meetings on food supply. Acting entities: Ocado and Ocado Retail. Recipient: Defra Secretary of State. Channel: gov.uk transparency CSV. Observed: 27 February 2023 and 14 March 2023; none in Q2 or Q3 2025 logs. Status: no continuing record in the 2025 logs reviewed. ^{28, 29, 30}
• Act: listing of Redefine Meat products on Ocado.com. Acting entity: Ocado (buying manager quoted; exact legal entity not stated). Recipient/supplier: Redefine Meat (Israel-based producer). Channel: foodanddrinktechnology.com (22 November 2023) and vegconomist.com (23 November 2023). Earliest observation: 22 November 2023. Latest observation: 23 November 2023 (no later page opened). Status: unknown at the research date. Audience: Ocado.com shoppers. ^{24, 23}