Co-operative Group buys ten London Costcutter stores
The Co-operative Group has acquired ten Costcutter branded stores in London for an undisclosed sum.
Six of the stores have been purchased from the Sunstar Group and the remaining four from the Tothaal Group.
The ten stores in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Brentford will begin trading as Co-operative food stores before Christmas. The stores will all undergo a full refit in 2013, following an investment of £3 million.
The stores’ 180 employees are all being offered the opportunity to transfer to The Co-operative.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Steve Murrells, The Co-operative’s chief executive of Food Retail, said: “This acquisition marks another important step in our plans to expand and follows our acquisition of the David Sands chain in Scotland earlier this year and the opening of a large number of new stores across the country.
“These stores are in excellent locations across central and Greater London and they will complement our existing store network in the capital and will be valuable additions to our portfolio.”
The Co-operative, which is the UK’s fifth largest food retailer, is actively acquiring stores, either leasehold or freehold, between 2,000 sq ft and 4,000 sq ft in high street and local community locations.
