UK retailer Sainsbury’s has entered into an agreement to acquire 10 leasehold stores from HHGL Limited, trading as Homebase.
The stores will be converted into Sainsbury’s supermarkets upon completion of the transaction in early September, the company noted.
The deal includes stores located in places that will help the retailer expand its network of supermarkets across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The initiative aligns with the company's Next Level Sainsbury’s plan to offer more food choices to more customers.
The stores will feature floor area in the range of approximately 15,000 to 40,000 square feet and will add a total of around 235,000 square feet to its supermarket trading space.
With the latest acquisition, the retailer will see nearly 400,000 more people gain access to a Sainsbury’s supermarket within a 10-minute drive.
The new stores will showcase Sainsbury’s latest food offer with a refreshed, innovative look and feel and higher sustainability credentials.
'Value And Quality'
Simon Roberts, chief executive officer of Sainsbury's, stated, "We have the best combination of value and quality in the market and that’s winning us customers from all our key competitors and driving consistent growth in volume market share.
"We want to build on this momentum which is why we are growing our supermarket footprint. Our ambition is to be customers’ first choice for food and these new stores will showcase some of the best that Sainsbury’s supermarkets have to offer to even more communities around the country."
The retail group added that it expects the stores to achieve strong returns, with return on capital employed in the low teens, comfortably in excess of Sainsbury’s cost of capital.
The first stores are scheduled to open next summer and the conversion of all sites is expected to be complete by the end of calendar year 2025.
The value of the acquisition – including the total capitalised cost of leases, acquisition premium and fit-out costs – is expected to be approximately £130 million.
The conversion of Homebase sites into supermarkets is expected to create approximately 1,000 new roles.
The retailer will guarantee an interview for any Homebase colleagues who are placed at risk of redundancy as a result of this transaction, it added.
