Waitrose to buy 19 stores from Morrisons

Waitrose, the quality supermarket arm of UK chain John Lewis, said today it plans to buy 18 Safeway stores and one Morrisons store from Morrisons, subject to approval by the British Office of Fair Trading.

The stores will add an increase of 20% selling space to Waitrose's existing 144 branches, and will take Waitrose's up-market offering into a number of new territories in the North of England and Wales as well as reinforcing its presence in the South