Jobs in store
SAINSBURY’S is creating more than 40 jobs in the Tees Valley with the opening of two new stores.
The supermarket giant has bought 15 former Kwik Save stores, including sites in Middlesbrough and Stockton.
The Kings Road store in North Ormesby and the site at Hanover Parade at the Glebe Centre, Stockton, will both re-open in early December following refurbishment and rebranding.
Both stores will create new jobs, but the announcement also safeguards the future for 26 former Kwik Save workers.
Twenty additional staff will be recruited for the North Ormesby store and a further 22 staff will be needed at the Stockton branch.
Kwik Save went into administration in July.
Darren Shapland, Sainsbury’s chief financial officer said, “This acquisition will bring approximately 90,000sq ft of new space to our store estate and represents a significant development in our plan to open 100 new convenience stores over the next three years.
“We are excited about the opportunities these stores will create in extending the reach of the Sainsbury’s brand and we look forward to welcoming new colleagues to Sainsbury’s.”
Euan McMurdo, Sainsbury’s head of property for convenience, said 15 former Kwik Save staff at Stockton and 11 at North Ormesby would be joining the company.
While stores are closed for refurbishment, staff will undergo training in preparation for opening. Sainsbury’s has stores across Tees Valley and in 2004 took over Bells Stores, which has more than 50 North-east stores, employing 1,000 staff.
Meanwhile Qatari-based investment fund Delta Two is locked in talks with its banks in a bid to raise the extra cash it needs to keep its £10.6bn bid for Sainsbury’s alive, it has been reported.
The group has approached a number of banks in an attempt to raise the additional £500m which last week it warned it would need.
It is understood it would need to retain a high level of cash in the business in case the supermarket’s rivals launched a price war on Sainsbury’s immediately after the deal was completed.
The Takeover Panel has set a deadline of 5pm on November 8 for Delta Two to announce an offer or walk away.
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