It has been revealed that The Co-operative Group will be selling 36 former Somerfield stores and will be putting more emphasis on convenience shopping.

The Somerfield stores were purchased by the Food Retailer Group, a division of restructuring experts Hilco who have implied that the move will not lead to stores closing or redundancies. The 920 staff move over to the company under a TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) agreement.

CEO of Co-op Food, Steve Murrells, said: "It is essential that we have a proactive property programme in place to support our long-term growth strategy and this sale aligns with that approach.”

He added: "The Co-op Food business is moving forwards with a clear purpose and momentum, so we can deliver a compelling, convenient and co-operative shopping experience for millions of shoppers each day. It is essential that we have a proactive property programme in place to support our long-term growth strategy and this sale aligns with that approach.

"An important consideration for us was that colleagues would have continued employment as a result of this sale, a principle we've applied to previous sales, including that of our pharmacy business to Bestway in 2014. This agreement ensures that 920 colleagues will continue in their jobs and have their terms and conditions maintained post-sale."

The completion is due to take place in July 2016.