
The Broadford petrol station on Skye is set be taken over by supermarket giant ASDA later this year as part of a £600 million deal struck with the Co-operative Group to acquire its entire petrol forecourt business.
The deal which was announced by the Co-op on Wednesday (31st August) will see ASDA acquire all 129 of its petrol forecourt sites, spread across the UK, which represents five per cent of Co-op’s retail estate of 2,564 stores.
Among the 129 sites is the Broadford petrol station, however, in a statement to the Free Press, a spokesperson for the Co-op said: “For Broadford only part of the site will be sold. The fuel kiosk will be sold, the large Co-op on site will be retained as will the colleagues within this store.
“The sale is expected to complete in the coming months following which there will be a transition period before the site moves over to Asda.”
The £600 million sale will include a cash consideration of £438m and is also inclusive of the Co-op’s lease liabilities which account for approximately £162m.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Co-op said the sale would enable it to “focus on core convenience proposition whilst significantly deleveraging and strengthening the Group’s balance sheet.”
With a primary focus on developing further its leading core convenience proposition, the Co-op has said that the proceeds from the sale of its relatively small non-core petrol forecourt business, will be used to:
- Reinvest into Co-op’s leading core convenience business centred around its retail estate, as well as its growing wholesale, franchise and e-commerce operations, including new convenience stores in the heart of more communities
- Invest in Co-op’s pricing, store operations, technology, and logistics, and
- Support the reduction of Co-op’s net debt.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, Chief Executive at the Co-op said: “This transaction is in line with our strategy to move away from operating petrol forecourts and supports our vision of co-operating for a fairer world while building our core leading convenience business.
“I would like to thank our incredible colleagues in these stores, and we will work closely with Asda to ensure a smooth transition.”
Article by Adam Gordon, and photo by Willie Urquhart.