A deal to sell 298 Co-operative Group stores to convenience store operator McColl’s has been approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The authority has given its final and unconditional approval to its acquisition of the Group’s convenience stores, which was first announced in July.
McColl’s chief executive Jonathan Miller said: “We are delighted that the CMA has approved our acquisition of these 298 quality convenience stores. This is a transformational deal, which substantially accelerates our growth strategy and expands our neighbourhood presence for the benefit of our customers.
“We have a long history and proven track record of successfully integrating convenience stores into our estate, and we expect these newly acquired stores to make a significant contribution to our future strategic plans.”
McColl’s will begin to integrate the stores in late January and expects all conversions to be completed by the end of August 2017. The stores will be supplied by Nisa, the business-owned co-operative.
Once completed, convenience stores will comprise over three quarters of McColl’s total estate.
