Sainsbury’s to buy 10 Homebase stores to convert into supermarkets

The grocery giant said the deal is set to create around 1,000 jobs.

The supermarket giant reported underlying pre-tax profits of £701 million for the year to March 2 (Alamy/PA)

Sainsbury’s has struck a deal to buy 10 Homebase stores and convert them into supermarkets, in a move set to create around 1,000 jobs.

The supermarket group said it expects to complete the deal to buy the leasehold stores next month.

Sainsbury’s said the plan will cost around £130 million in investment, including buying the leases and its spending fitting out the new stores.

It said the new stores will cover “key target locations” for its expansion across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The converted shops will add a total of around 235,000 square feet to Sainsbury’s’ supermarket trading space.

It added that the first of these shops is expected to open as a supermarket next summer, with plans to complete all the conversions by the end of 2025.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of the supermarket group, 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.

“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.”