Squeeze fear for McColl’s

CONVENIENCE STORE chain McColl’s has said current trading is down on last year in a “challenging and competitive” market.

The group, which has 1,317 outlets including 809 convenience stores, said like-for-like sales were down 1.2% in the 13 weeks to March 1 amid continued pressure on consumer spending.

Overall, adjusted earnings rose by 9% to £37.3 million in the 53 weeks to November 30 as the firm opened new outlets and upgraded existing shops.

During the period the business acquired 60 convenience stores, converted 45 newsagents to a food and wine format and upgraded a further 102 stores to premium formats.

The convenience stores helped it increase the size of its average basket spend across the group from £4.73 to £4.97.

The business, which employs more than 18,000 staff, reiterated plans to have 1,000 convenience stores by the end of 2016.

Chairman John Coleman struck a cautionary note.

He said: “Although economic activity across the UK is showing some signs of improvement, we are planning for continued pressure on consumer spending and an increasingly competitive convenience sector.”

The business runs 451 post offices and delivers newspapers to around 130,000 households.

McColl’s was valued at £200m when it floated in February last year.