Asda’s acquisition of 132 forecourt stores from the Co-op Group for £611m has been completed.
The deal, announced in August 2022, includes 129 existing sites across the UK with a retail store of between 1,500 and 3,000 square feet and attached petrol stations, and three development sites.
The move is part of Asda’s strategy to enter the convenience sector. The acquisition was for a cash value of £438m plus lease liabilities of £173m.
According to the Co-op Group, the sale proceeds will be used to reinvest into its leading core convenience business, pricing, store operations, technology, and logistics, as well as to further support the reduction of net debt.
The deal is subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which has issued an Initial Enforcement Order’ so that the sites remain entirely separate from Asda during the investigation – a process that is expected to take until mid-2023
The circa 2,300 colleagues currently employed by The Co-op will move to Asda’s employment under TUPE transfer in the coming months, following consultation with USDAW however only following formal approval of the transaction will colleagues be able to transfer to Asda’s employment and the stores made part of the Asda estate.
Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, said it was the “next step on a journey to creating a new and exciting part of our Asda business”.
“As millions of families deal with the day-to-day impacts of increasing costs of living, we’re committed to bringing Asda’s great value groceries and fuel to even more communities across the UK through these new stores. Over the last five years we’ve been consistently ranked as one of the cheapest providers of fuel in the UK and have been voted the Grocer’s best priced supermarket for 25 years in a row – meaning customers in these communities can look forward to saving millions annually on the cost of filling their shopping trolleys and tanks when Asda comes to town.
“We look forward to working collaboratively with the CMA on their investigation and to welcoming our new Asda colleagues to our great business in the coming months.”
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