100 stores from failed wholesaler snapped up

BARGAIN Booze owner Conviviality is buying more than 100 convenience stores from collapsed wholesaler Palmer & harvey in a £25m deal.

The alcohol wholesaler and distributor has tabled a bid for Central Convenience, which includes franchise rights and 127 stores, of which 20 are linked to petrol stations and 47 to Post offices, as well as 18 franchisee-operated stores.

The deal could save more than 1,300 jobs.

The group is underpinning the deal by raising £30m on the london Stock exchange by placing 8,000,000 ordinary shares at 375p each.

Shares in Conviviality rose more than 2pc, or 8.5p, to 386.5p yesterday in response to the potential acquisition from P&h subsidiary, WSR.

Conviviality chief executive diana hunter said the deal would help Conviviality expand in the south and south west.

A further 400 P&h staff were made redundant on Tuesday, following on from the 2,500 who immediately lost their jobs when the troubled wholesaler crashed into administration at the end of last month.

The 90-year-old firm appointed PwC as administrators after ‘challenging trading conditions’ heaped pressure on its cash flow and efforts to revive the business failed to take hold.

P&h was the UK’s biggest supplier of cigarettes, providing alcohol, groceries and frozen food to 90,000 retail accounts.

WSR booked turnover and earnings of £75.7m and £3.5m respectively in the 53 weeks to April 8, Conviviality said.