18th Aug 2005 07:01
Sainsbury(J) PLC18 August 2005 18 August 2005 Sainsbury's acquires nine stores from Morrisons Sainsbury's has agreed to acquire a further nine Safeway branded stores fromMorrisons. The stores are leasehold and eight are located in the South ofEngland with one in Scotland. Justin King, chief executive said, "These stores give us over 175,000 sq ft ofnew space, and have an average size of around 20,000 sq ft. They will providean opportunity to strengthen our market position in town centre locations anddeliver future growth. We look forward to welcoming 100,000 new customers and1,220 new colleagues to Sainsbury's." The gross asset value of the stores at 30 January 2005 was approximately £16.8m.It is anticipated that the acquisition of these stores will be earningsenhancing in their first full year of operation. Each store acquisition is conditional upon approval from the OFT. Theacquisition is expected to complete in three tranches in the autumn of 2005.The stores will then be closed for six weeks while they are refurbished andreopen under the Sainsbury's fascia ahead of Christmas. Last year, Sainsbury's acquired 14 stores from Morrisons (13 Safeway brandedstores and one Morrisons store) located primarily in the Midlands and the northof England. All these stores are now open and trading well. Enquiries:Investor Relations MediaLynda Ashton Pip Wood+44 (0) 20 7695 7162 +44 (0) 20 7695 6127 Store Locations AddressHammersmith Kings MallMorden London RoadSlough Farnham RoadAndover Borden GateEastleigh Leigh RoadBitterne West End RoadMidsomer Norton High StreetEast Kilbride 120 Olympia CentreAcocks Green Warwick Road This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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