UK convenience retailer McColl's has announced that its acquisition of 298 Co-op stores has been given final approval by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The deal was originally announced on 13 July this year.
McColl's will start the store changeover in late January 2017, and it expects that all conversions will be done by the end of August next year.
After the acquisition, more than 75% of McColl's total estate will be made up of convenience stores, the company said.
Chief executive Jonathan Miller commented, "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 Retail Group is a neighbourhood retailer and operates 1,375 independent convenience and newsagent stores. It also runs 1,001 McColl's-branded stores and 374 Martin's newsagents in the UK. In Scotland, it operates under heritage brand RS McColl.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
