Morrisons beats Asda owners in battle for control of McColl’s

All 16,000 of the McColl's workers will retain their jobs

Morrisons has seen a last-minute bid to gain control of McColl's Retail Group accepted, fighting off competition from  petrol retailer EG Group. The offer will see all of the chain's stores and workforce saved in their entirety, Sky News reports. EG Group owners Mohsin and Zuber Issa already own Asda as part of their retail empire. It is understood that had they been successful in their bid, they would have offered to align pay for McColl's lowest paid staff with that of the supermarket chain at £10.05 an hour. Morrisons will buy McColl's immediately after it enters insolvency proceedings. Last week, the corner shop chain had gone into administration, putting 16,000 jobs at risk. As part of the deal, Morrisons has vowed to retain all 1,100 McColl's stores and its 16,000-strong workforce, and will honour all of its outstanding pension obligations, an insider told Sky. When the convenience store chain's lenders declined a request to restructure its debt, a bid battle began for the London-listed company. PwC are expected to officially announce the buy out later on Monday. Related links:

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