UK: Morrisons buys bankrupt retailer McColl’s

British supermarket chain Morrisons has put in place a rescue package for bankrupt retailer McColl’s. As Morrisons announced today, all 16,000 jobs will be preserved with the McColl’s acquisition. Morrisons is now expected to take on the retailer’s debt of more than 160 million pounds (187 million euros) in addition to McCall’s pension obligations.

The retail chain, which operates around 1,100 stores, said on Friday that due to lower consumer spending in the face of rising inflation and problems in the supply chain, it “unfortunately had no choice” but to put the company on guard.

Audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which was looking for a buyer for McColl’s, was used as an official. The Morrisons defeated the gas station giant EG, whose owners also run the British supermarket chain Asda. Morrisons is the fourth largest supermarket chain in the UK, after Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda.