Co-op’s store sale cleared by watchdog

WM Morrison’s acquisition of 30 stores from the Co-operative Group will not be referred to the Competition Commission.

Following an investigation the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it did not believe the deal will lead to a substantial lessening of competition.

Wm Morrison bought a total of 40 stores from Manchester-based Co-op in December for around £225m but 30 of these, with a combined turnover of £70m, became the subject of a competition probe.

The Co-op had agreed to sell 133 shops to allay competition fears over its £1.5bn takeover of Somerfield. However, the stores under scrutiny were not part of this divestment package.

The OFT said it had not received any third party comments about the deal and its investigation focused on two shops in Merseyside and Newcastle. But its concerns were not considered sufficient to refer the deal to the Competition Commission.