Somerfield seals forecourt deal
Supermarket group buying Texaco sites
Somerfield has agreed the purchase of 118 UK forecourt convenience stores from Texaco.
Somerfield will acquire 13 forecourts outright, while Azure Property, a partnership formed by Palmer Capital Partners and Deutsche Property Asset Management will acquire the remaining 105. These will then be leased to Somerfield.
The deal will increase Somerfield’s forecourt convenience store portfolio which will increase to 162 stores. Azure will re-develop the sites as necessary to Somerfield’s requirements, with the stores operated under the ‘Somerfield Essentials’ format. Texaco will continue to supply fuel to the forecourts.
Steve Back, chief executive of Somerfield, said: “We are extremely pleased to have concluded this deal which represents an exciting opportunity for Somerfield to increase its presence in the forecourts convenience sector and we welcome over 1400 Texaco employees to the Somerfield Group.
“This acquisition, together with the significant progress achieved in the portfolio transformation programme, is further evidence that our stated strategy is being delivered.”
Somerfield currently has two potential bidders conducting due diligence on the business, and has also attracted the attention of Wal-Mart owned rival Asda, which is talking to advisers about a possible approach.
