Economia
UK: Coop breakthrough
Manchester based Co-operative Group, the UK's largest community food retailer, is to take over the privately owned supermarket chain Somerfield, with 3,000 outlets.
di Staff
The Co-operative Group is believed to be nearing the end of talks with Somerfield that could see the UK's largest community food retailer taking over the privately owned supermarket chain.
The Manchester-based Co-operative Group confirmed that it is in discussions over acquiring Somerfield. At the same time, the Group announced increases in its annual sales performance but decreases in profit, thanks to the merger with United Co-operatives.
It has been reported that the Group, which is the largest co-operative in the country, has made an offer of around £1.7bn to Somerfield for some 900 stores.
If the Group took over Somerfield stores, it could have up to 3,000 food outlets across the UK operating on socially and environmentally responsible principles. This could mean expanded opportunities for social businesses to supply products.
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