Convenience chain McColls could be saved from administration if a rescue deal from Morrisons is accepted.
Sky News is reporting that the supermarket giant has proposed a last-ditch rescue deal that would preserve the majority of its 16,000-strong workforce.
The chain has stores on Carlton Hill and in Calverton.
The deal came within hours of McColl’s revealling that it was on the brink of calling in administrators unless a “financing solution” to avert its collapse could be found.
McColl’s is an important partner of Morrisons, operating hundreds of smaller shops under the Morrisons Daily brand.
Experts say the deal would be a substantial financial commitment for Morrisons and its new private equity owners, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, because of McColl’s roughly £170m of debts.
Sky say that If McColl’s is forced into administration, it would be the biggest insolvency in the UK retail sector by size of workforce since the collapse of Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group in 2020.
