Morrisons wins battle to save newsagent chain McColl’s

Supermarket group Morrisons has won a battle to rescue McColl’s, the newsagent chain with 1,400 convenience stores, including in Caol, and has taken on all 16,000 staff members.

Morrisons beat a rival offer from EG Group, the petrol station empire owned by the billionaire Issa brothers, and will pay off McColl’s £170 million debts and take on its 1,160 shops and pension schemes, with 2,000 members. The supermarket’s boss said the deal offered stability and continuity for the business, its staff and pensioners.

A spokesperson for Caol Community Council told the Lochaber Times this week: ‘We are pleased to see that local shop will continue and it is good that staff have been given good news, and hopefully both they, and the whole community, will benefit from the takeover.’