Sainsbury's buys 24 new stores

Last Modified: 04 Mar 2009
Source: ITN

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's has said it is buying 24 stores from The Co-operative Group in a deal worth £83 million.

Of the stores, 22 belonged to the Somerfield grocery chain, which was taken over by The Co-operative Group earlier this week, and two were branded Co-op stores.

Sainsbury's plans to spend a further £45 million fitting out 19 of the stores as supermarkets, and the remaining five as Sainsbury's Locals, its smaller outlets.

Chief executive Justin King said: "We are delighted to acquire these stores which are an excellent addition to our store estate and we are pleased to welcome 1,400 new colleagues to Sainsbury's."

Link to the full article at Channel 4 (ITN)