Sainsbury’s acquires nine Safeway stores from Morrisons

19/08/05 Sainsbury’s has agreed to acquire a further nine Safeway branded stores from Morrisons. The stores are leasehold and eight are located in the South of England with one in Scotland.

Justin King, chief executive said, “These stores give us over 175,000 sq ft of new space, and have an average size of around 20,000 sq ft. They will provide an opportunity to strengthen our market position in town centre locations and deliver future growth. We look forward to welcoming 100,000 new customers and 1,220 new colleagues to Sainsbury’s.”

The gross asset value of the stores at 30 January 2005 was approximately £16.8m. It is anticipated that the acquisition of these stores will be earnings enhancing in their first full year of operation.

Each store acquisition is conditional upon approval from the OFT. The acquisition is expected to complete in three tranches in the autumn of 2005. The stores will then be closed for six weeks while they are refurbished and reopen under the Sainsbury’s fascia ahead of Christmas.

Last year, Sainsbury’s acquired 14 stores from Morrisons (13 Safeway branded stores and one Morrisons store) located primarily in the Midlands and the north of England. All these stores are now open and trading well.