Waitrose & Partners has today (7 March) confirmed that it has exchanged contracts for the sale of the five shops to various parties (figures provided are shop sales areas):
Ashbourne, Derbyshire (7,710 sq ft)
Barry, Vale of Glamorgan (25,909 sq ft)
Blaby, Leicestershire (6,773 sq ft)
Teignmouth, Devon (19,374 sq ft)
Torquay, Devon (12,508 sq ft)
The details of the arrangements are not yet finalised, but the expectation is that the sales of the shops will complete in June.
Those parties acquiring the shops in Barry, Blaby, Torquay and Teignmouth do not plan to open the shops for an extended period to undertake work to the site which means the shop will close during this time. The party acquiring Ashbourne will share their plans far earlier.
Partners in the five shops will now enter a period of redundancy consultation and as part of this opportunities within the Partnership will be explored for those who wish to remain with the business.
Waitrose Retail Director, Ben Stimson, said, “The sale of our shops is never something we take lightly, but we have accepted offers for them as it is sadly - despite the hard work of everyone involved - not commercially sustainable for us to continue trading from them in the long term.
“Our priority is our Partners working in those shops who will be fully supported throughout the process and we will identify opportunities for those wishing to remain with the business wherever possible.”