Iceland acquires 50 Woolies stores

The end of the week has brought some cheer to the retail industry after frozen food retailer Iceland has bought 51 ex-Woolworths stores.

The news comes just a few days after the last of the Woolies stores closed their doors for good.

Iceland said the purchase will result in 2,500 new jobs across the country in the next 12 months.

Last summer, Iceland made an offer to buy all of Woolworths’ 815 stores, however, Woolworths turned down the offer, deeming it “unacceptable”.

Woolies was an icon on the British High Street for almost 100 years, the retailer had been struggling under a mountain of debt of £385 million and faced pressure from competition from large supermarkets and the internet.

All 27,000 permanent and temporary staff lost their jobs.

Iceland, which has almost 700 stores, said it is confident it can support the local community in areas which lost their Woolworths store.

Iceland, which was established in 1970, said approximately 75% of the stores it has acquired from Woolworths are in the south of England, with around a dozen in London.

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