UK: Tesco's One Stop to acquire 77 Mills stores

One Stop, a convenience chain run by UK retail giant Tesco, is to acquire 77 stores from English retailer Mills as part of its long-term plan to grow its business, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Tesco.

The acquisition will bring the number of One Stop stores to 598 across England and Wales, Tesco said on 16 December.
The deal is conditional upon regulatory approval and is expected to complete in spring 2011. Following the deal, One Stop will account for around 1.2% of the approximate 50,000 convenience stores in the UK, according to IGD.

David Turner, CEO of One Stop, said: "We'll be investing in refurbishing the stores, creating an even better shopping experience, as well as bringing down prices"

Mills is a group of privately-owned companies that operate stores in the north east of England, Cumbria, Yorkshire, the Midlands and south Wales.