Sainsbury's buys corner shops

SUPERMARKETS group J Sainsbury is beefing up its convenience stores business with the acquisition of the privately-owned, Hull-based Jacksons Stores chain in a deal thought to be worth more than £75m.

Jacksons has 114 shops across Yorkshire and the North Midlands and its acquisition will double Sainsbury's share of the booming £23bn-a-year corner shop market, to 2%.

It already has 67 Sainsbury's Locals, 54 Bells Stores, which were bought for £20m-plus in February, and 22 forecourt stores with Shell.

But rival Tesco, which owns T&S Stores, is still much far larger in the convenience store sector, with a market share of 6%.

Today's deal brings a windfall for the wealthy Oughtred family, led by Christopher Oughtred. The stores chain is part of their Wm Jackson group, which can trace its roots back to a small grocery shop opened in Hull in 1851.

Today it has interests ranging from bakeries to Chinese ready meals and Tryton Foods, the frozen food manufacturer best known for its Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire puddings.

Sales of the Jacksons shops chain were £143m in the year to 24 April and net assets totalled £25.5m. The group employs 2,350, all of whom will be staying on under the new owners, including the management team led by Angus Oughtred.

Sainsbury chief executive Justin King said the deal was 'a great opportunity' and gives the group 'real scale and expertise in this sector'.