Asda has been granted an extension to the timescale for an £800m IT upgrade by its former owner Walmart, after it missed a crucial deadline target. The project is required to fully separate Asda’s IT system from that of Walmart.

It is understood the changeover, dubbed Project Future, was scheduled to be complete by February. Earlier this year industry sources told The Telegraph that Asda could be fined millions if it missed the deadline.

The publication claims the American retailer and Asda have now come to a revised agreement, ditching the February deadline.

The project has proved difficult. Walmart owned Asda until it was sold to private equity giant TDR Capital and brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, in 2021.

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Among other technology, Asda is required to separate thousands of programmes that control its checkouts, administration and payroll.

Last year, a glitch in a computing update left thousands of Asda workers with incorrect payslips, while a second mishap saw issues impacting thousands of orders for its George clothing range.

A spokesperson told the title: “We continue to make good progress delivering Project Future and have successfully migrated large parts of our business to brand-new systems.

“We will continue to take a pragmatic approach when delivering the remainder of the programme and Walmart continue to be incredibly supportive in every way in helping with the implementation.”

Asda has been contacted for comment.