Morrisons has completed a deal for McColl’s Retail Group, the convenience store and newsagents chain, with more than 1,100 stores included as part of the takeover.
Both Morrisons and EG Group, owned by Asda’s the Issa brothers, filed final offers for the business on Sunday 8th May. Morrisons matched EG Group’s offer to pay off McColl’s £170 million debts in full and take on all its stores and staff.
Morrisons chief executive David Potts said that the transaction “offers stability and continuity for the McColl’s business and, in particular, a better outcome for its colleagues and pensioners.”
Prior to the group’s collapse, Morrisons had a partnership with McColl’s as it supplied its convenience stores with stock.
Representatives from PwC were appointed as administrators of McColl’s Retail Group plc on Monday 9th May.
Rob Lewis, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “Especially during the current economic climate, the completion of this transaction provides much needed certainty to McColl’s 16,000 staff after a period of understandable concern following the group’s challenges over the past months.”
Rachael Wilkinson, joint administrator and director PwC, added that the transaction also includes an obligation on Alliance Property Holdings to secure the company’s pension schemes, with Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited acting as guarantor going forward.
