MORRISONS has been stopped from taking over every Wiltshire store owned by one newsagent group.

The Competition and Markets Authority investigated the supermarket chain's £190 million purchase of the McColl's Retail Group in July to check whether it would cause issues with nearby businesses.

After the first phase of this investigation, the CMA found the deal would not do any harm in most parts of the country but raised concerns with 35 areas in which it expected problems to arise because a monopoly would be created by the retail giant's purchase.

Morrisons and McColl's discussed ways to solve these issues. The supermarket has now agreed to sell 28 branches of the newsagent group to allow other owners to purchase them instead and therefore remove any concerns about minimising competition.

This includes 26 stores in England, one in Perth, Scotland, and one in Newport, Wales.

The McColl's on Pewsey and Highworth's High Streets will be divested to a purchaser - or purchasers - which the CMA will then approve.

The authority is minded to accept these proposals, which it says appear to be suitable to restore the loss of competition brought about by the deal across each of the 35 local areas.

The number of McColl’s stores that Morrisons is proposing to sell is lower than the number of areas in which concerns were identified but the sale of some stores would address the problems in multiple areas.

The CMA is now consulting on the proposals – known as undertakings – for the sale of these stores. If the proposals are accepted, the takeover would be allowed to proceed.

Senior director of mergers, Sorcha O’Carroll, said: “Our preliminary view is that the sale of these stores will preserve competition in these local areas and prevent consumers from losing out due to this deal, at a time when shoppers are already facing rising prices.

“If, after reviewing the responses to our consultation, we conclude that the competition issues have been addressed, the deal will be cleared.”

McColl’s operates convenience newsagent shops, with more than 1,100 stores across England, Scotland, and Wales, while Morrisons (owned by parent company Clayton, Dubilier & Rice) has around 500 grocery stores in the UK.

CD&R is also the parent company of the Motor Fuel Group, which owns more than 800 convenience stores, the vast majority of which are attached to its petrol stations.

For more information, or to respond to the consultation, visit www.gov.uk/cma-cases/morrisons-slash-mccolls-merger-inquiry