Asda has completed the acquisition of 132 grocery retail sites, with attached petrol stations, from The Co-op as part of its strategy to enter the convenience retail space. The acquisition, which was initially announced at the end of August for a cash value of £438m, 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 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. Whilst the sale of the sites has now formally completed and Asda owns the 132 sites, the deal remains subject to regulatory approval from the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority).
The CMA has issued an ‘Initial Enforcement Order’ requiring that the Co-op sites remain entirely separate from Asda whilst the CMA conducts its investigation into the deal – a process that is expected to take until mid-2023.
