MORRISONS is set to sell 28 of its McColl’s convenience stores – including the former one in Lymm.

The supermarket giant is seeking to sell the Morrisons Daily shop on Albany Road as part of its proposal to take over the convenience store group – which includes selling almost 30 stores to push the move through.

Morrisons extended its wholesale partnership with McColl’s as part of an agreement to convert more of its stores to the Morrisons Daily format which affected the Lymm store last year.

But back in May, Morrisons agreed a £190 million deal to rescue McColl’s from administration after the convenience chain was weighed down by soaring costs due to supply chain disruption, inflation and its large debt burden.

However, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month raised concerns over 35 locations where it saw the potential for reduced competition between McColl’s, Morrisons and Motor Fuel Group – which is owned by Morrisons’ parent firm – stores.

On Monday, the watchdog said it is now proposing to accept an offer from Morrisons to sell 28 McColl’s stores to address the concerns over local competition.

Morrisons will now seek to sell the stores to a buyer or buyers approved by the competition regulator.

The stores set for sale besides the one in Lymm include sites in Swindon, Lincoln and Brentwood.

Sorcha O’Carroll, CMA senior director of mergers, said: “Our preliminary view is that the sale of these stores will preserve competition in these local areas and prevent consumers from losing out due to this deal, at a time when shoppers are already facing rising prices.

“If, after reviewing the responses to our consultation, we conclude that the competition issues have been addressed, the deal will be cleared.”

While the number of McColl’s stores that Morrisons is proposing to sell is lower than the number of areas where concerns were originally identified, the CMA said the sale of some stores would address the concerns in multiple locations.