A convenience retail veteran is believed to be behind the acquisition of Morrisons’ 160 M Local stores.
Mike Greene, a current ACS board member and twice chairman has held senior roles at Spar and McColl’s, is understood to be fronting a deal for the convenience stores, backed by investment firm Greybull Capital.
The sale of M Local stores, which are estimated to generate close to £350m, has worried independent retailers. Kamal Thaker of Stop Shop News in Middlesex has five Morrisons stores in a five-mile radius, including one M Local. He said: “The new buyers have a good track record so the stores will become a lot sharper – it’s worrying for independents.”
Morrisons posted a record £792m loss earlier this year, and has been criticised for being too slow in joining the convenience channel, lagging behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s, who muscled in on the convenience sector far earlier.
M Local’s potential new owner, Greybull Capital, is responsible for turning around Monarch airline by injecting £12m into the company.
The move by Britain’s fourth largest supermarket to sell off its convenience portfolio surprised retail expert Paul Turner-Mitchell who has previously analysed the company’s business rates.
He said: “It’s baffling. The convenience sector is where the growth and the future is for the Big Four in the battle with discounters.”
Earlier this year Morrisons hired a new CEO, David Potts, following its gigantic losses. From the beginning of his Morrisons career the CEO has focused on the traditional supermarket estate by closing 23 M Local stores and pledging to target price cuts rather than expansion.
Greybull Capital declined to comment on the deal.
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