Takeover gets green light from Nisa Retail members

NISA Retail members have given the green light to Co-op Group’s £137.5m takeover offer, with over 75% voting in favour of the deal.

It helps pave the way for Co-op’s plans to acquire 100% of the convenience store operator, which has around 1,200 shopkeeper members running over 3,200 stores, assuming the deal is cleared by UK authorities.

The retailer said it expects the takeover to be approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) by the end of March 2018.

Around 24.21% of Nisa’s shopkeeper members voted against the Co-op’s offer during a meeting in Leeds, but the company assured that members will experience “significant immediate and long-term benefits” following the deal, gaining access to Co-op labelled products and “greater scale”.

A combined entity would see the number of stores the Co-op supplies almost double to 7,000, from 3,800 outlets, but under the terms of the deal, Co-op will retain Nisa as a standalone business and brand, as well as take on £105m of its debt.

“Members will still enjoy the independence to operate their stores as they wish, and will be able to remain part of a member-owned organisation within the growing UK convenience retail sector,” Nisa said.

Nisa chairman Peter Hartley said he was “delighted” that members voted in favour of the deal in “such significant numbers”.

The move would help safeguard the brand during a transformational period for the industry, he added.