Following the news at the end of August that Tesco was poised to buy 30 petrol stations from supermarket rival WM Morrison, the latter has now confirmed that it will be selling 21 stations to the UK's leading retailer.
Tesco fell short of its original target because the co-owner of the sites in question, BP, decided to exercise its option to take on nine of the forecourts itself. According to Morrison, BP will hold onto four of the sites, while the remaining five will transfer to Somerfield.
Tesco, which commands an eighth of the total UK retail sector, will now re-brand the forecourt shops of the 21 sites with its Express brand as part of its strategic plan to expand its footprint of convenience shops across the nation.
The purchase price was not revealed, however Morrison valued the 30 sites at GBP55.3 million at the beginning of the year, which at rough speculation would value the assets being acquired by Tesco in the range of GBP35 to 40 million.