A MAJOR supermarket chain is remaining tight-lipped on when it is taking over a Powys petrol station and shop – though it is believed the change will happen later this month.
It was confirmed in August last year that Co-op’s 129 petrol stations across the UK had been sold to Asda in a deal worth £600 million – including its petrol station and store in Station Road, Llanelwedd, just outside Builth Wells.
It is believed staff at the Llanelwedd Co-op, will transfer over to Asda.
Asda chiefs confirmed this week that the Powys station is one of the stores that is part of the Asda deal.
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A spokesperson said they could not confirm when the switchover was taking place, amid talk locally that the change is taking place later this month.
Shelves have started to clear inside the store with many items’ prices slashed.
In August 2022, it was reported that the sale would see five per cent of Co-op’s entire retail estate handed over to Asda, which already runs 323 petrol stations across the UK.
Known for its supermarket chains and funeral care operations, Co-op said offloading its petrol forecourts will allow it to focus on its convenience business as well as raising important cash for the business.
Co-op chief executive, Shirine Khoury-Haq, said: “Today’s sale will help us to reduce our net debt and improve our financial position, giving us more of a buffer to ride out the current economic waves.
“If we have learned anything over the past couple of years, it is that we cannot predict much in terms of what is coming next.
“We are incredibly optimistic about the future of the business, but we do need to look prudently at the external environment.”
Ms Khoury-Haq, newly-appointed last August, said there were no plans to sell any more of the group’s assets, beyond keeping an eye on a handful of its underperforming stores.
The deal comes after the Co-op announced in July 2022 that it would cut around 400 head office jobs in the face of tough trading conditions worsened by rising inflation.
For Asda, the move is part of its plans to become “the UK’s second largest supermarket” and to move further into the country’s convenience store market.
Asda was set to pay £438 million in cash and take on around £162 million of lease liabilities as part of the deal.
Around 2,300 Co-op staff who work across the sites being sold will transfer over to Asda once the deal is complete.
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