Last month (May 2022), it was announced that convenience chain McColls had collapsed into administration. The move put 1,100 shops and 16,000 jobs at risk.
However, 18 of Bristol's McColl’s convenience stores were saved. Promises were made that they were to be be taken over by Morrisons after the supermarket chain won a battle with a rival bidder to buy the ailing chain.
Morrisons beat off a rival offer from petrol station empire EG Group with McColl’s administrators opting for Morrisons because of its close links to McColl’s already. Morrisons have said they will guarantee to keep all the stores open and retain all the staff - and pay workers at least £10 an hour.
READ MORE: McColl's collapses into administration - what it could mean for Bristol's 30 stores
The supermarket chain is already in a supply agreement, with Morrisons supplying fresh produce to McColl’s across the country. Morrisons will now pay off McColl’s £170m debts, take on its 1,160 shops, and the business’s pension schemes.
Rob Lewis, the joint administrator at Price Waterhouse Coopers, the administrators called in by McColl’s when it began to hit trouble last week, said the deal provided ‘much needed certainty to McColl’s 16,000 staff after a period of understandable concern’. Morrisons’ chief executive David Potts said he thought the deal was a good one for all concerned, saying:
“Although we are disappointed that the business was put into administration, we believe this is a good outcome for McColl's and all its stakeholders, This transaction offers stability and continuity for the McColl's business and, in particular, a better outcome for its colleagues and pensioners."
It appears increasingly likely that all the McColl’s across the city, and the rest of the country, will convert - as seven in Bristol have already - to Morrisons Daily stores, with the McColl’s name being lost to the high street forever.
However, despite the deal with Morisons, the McColl's store in Temple Quay has closed it's doors permanently. A spokesperson for McColl’s said: “Having explored all options, regretfully we took the difficult decision not to renew the lease at the McColl’s store on 1, The Square, Temple Quay in Bristol."
The store’s last day of trading was 11 March 2022. And, despite conversations around McColl's being changed into Morisons Daily stores, it doesn't seem likely that this will be the Temple Quay store.
A spokesperson for Morisons says that at present, there are no plans for a new McColl's or Morrisons Daily store at the Temple Quay location.
