Co-op sells five stores to Waitrose

NORTH West retailer The Co-operative Group has sold five stores to Waitrose.

Four of the sites – at Ashbourne Derbyshire, Melksham in Somerset, Anglesey and Somerset are forced sales on competition grounds.

After the takeover of Somerfield this year the Office of Fair Trading ordered the Co-op to sell stores where local competition was affected.

The fifth store, in Storrington, West Sussex, was sold for “tactical reasons”, a spokeswoman for the Co-operative said.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Four of the stores are former Somerfield shops, while the site in Anglesey was a Co-op.

Waitrose director of development, Nigel Keen, said: ‘It’s great to welcome employees from Somerfield and The Co-operative into the partnership and we’re looking forward to introducing more customers to our fabulous food and high standards of customer service.”

The stores, which jointly employ around 500 people, will be reopened as Waitroses early next year.