Sainsbury’s has agreed to acquire 10 stores from Homebase to convert into supermarkets, with the sale expected to complete in early September.
The acquired stores are based in key target locations designed to grow the grocer’s coverage across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, as part of its Next Level Sainsbury’s plan.
Once the sites have been converted, the shop floor area of the stores will add a total of around 235,000 sq ft to Sainsbury’s trading space, bringing nearly 400,000 more people to be within a 10-minute drive of a supermarket, according to the chain.
The grocery giant, which recently won its largest market share gain in 27 years, is set to open the first of its stores next summer and aims to complete the conversion of all of the sites by the end of 2025.
The Homebase stores Sainsbury’s is acquiring are in Birmingham Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Derry/Londonderry, Fareham, Inverurie, Lowestoft, Newark, Omagh, and Rugby.
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Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts said: “Sainsbury’s food business continues to go from strength to strength as we push ahead with our Next Level Sainsbury’s plan.
“We have the best combination of value and quality in the market and that’s winning us customers from all our key competitors and driving consistent growth in volume market share.”
He continued: “We want to build on this momentum which is why we are growing our supermarket footprint.
“Our ambition is to be customers’ first choice for food and these new stores will showcase some of the best that Sainsbury’s supermarkets have to offer to even more communities around the country.”
The sale comes as Homebase owner Hilco Capital is understood to be eyeing a sale of the DIY retailer.
Hilco, which bought Homebase for £1 in 2018, is thought to have been in talks with a number of parties about offloading the DIY chain.
Homebase racked up heavy losses last year, as it claimed customers had been “cautious” with their spending. It reported an £84m loss in the year to January 2023, from a profit of £30m the year prior, according to accounts viewed by The Times. Sales also plummeted from £788m to £701m during the period.
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