Sainsbury's snaps up Aberdeenshire Homebase in 10-store takeover deal

Sainsbury's has acquired 10 Homebase stores across the UK to convert them into supermarkets, including an Aberdeenshire outlet.

The Inverurie Homebase branch will soon be taken over by the grocery giant, with the sale expected to be completed in early September.

The newly-acquired stores are said to be based in target locations in which Sainsbury's is seeking to grow its coverage across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland as part of its Next Level Sainsbury's plan.

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According to Retail Gazette, the sites will be converted over the coming months, adding a total of around 235,000 sq ft to Sainsbury's trading space.

It also could bring nearly 400,000 more people to within a 10-minute drive of a supermarket, according to the chain.

The takeover comes after Sainsbury's recently secured its largest market share gain in 27 years, and they are now set to open the first of its stores next summer with the aim of converting all 10 sites by the end of 2025.

The Homebase stores Sainsbury’s is acquiring are as follows:

• Homebase Birmingham Sutton Coldfield

• Homebase Bromsgrove

• Homebase Cromer

• Homebase Derry/Londonderry

• Homebase Fareham

• Homebase Inverurie

• Homebase Lowestoft

• Homebase Newark

• Homebase Omagh

• Homebase Rugby

Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts said: “Sainsbury’s food business continues to go from strength to strength as we push ahead with our Next Level Sainsbury’s plan.

“We have the best combination of value and quality in the market and that’s winning us customers from all our key competitors and driving consistent growth in volume market share.”

He continued: “We want to build on this momentum which is why we are growing our supermarket footprint.

“Our ambition is to be customers’ first choice for food and these new stores will showcase some of the best that Sainsbury’s supermarkets have to offer to even more communities around the country.”

Homebase racked up heavy losses last year, as it claimed customers had been “cautious” with their spending.

It reported an £84million loss in the year to January 2023, from a profit of £30million the year prior, according to accounts viewed by The Times. Sales also plummeted from £788million to £701million during the period.