Tesco has announced that it is repaying the £585m worth of business rates relief that it received as support during the coronavirus pandemic.
"We will work with the UK government and devolved administrations on the best means of doing that," it said. While most of the public focus has - for obvious reasons - been on the furlough scheme, the business rates holiday for retailers and hospitality companies has been one of the main ways the government has tried to keep alive the companies most affected by pandemic closures. Like all coronavirus schemes, however, the rates relief was a blunt instrument - it went also to retailers who have stayed open throughout.
The question now is whether other essential retailers - especially the big grocery chains such as Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda - will follow Tesco's lead. It would be surprising if they did not.