Morrisons has revealed plans to close 11 supermarkets having announced the sale of 140 convenience stores earlier in the week.
In half year results, the Bradford supermarket said the 11 stores were in addition to 10 that it had already closed this year. The combined sales of the stores earmarked for closure last financial year was £86m but all made an operating loss.
Morrisons said it had opened one new store this year and did not plan to open any more in the year to next April. It also confirmed that it remained committed to holding a freehold store portfolio of more than 80% (currently 85%).
The struggling grocer has a target to complete £1bn of property disposals over three year and has achieved £629m so far.
Earlier this week, it announced the sale of 140 M Local convenience stores for around £25m to a team led by retail entrepreneur Mike Greene and backed by Greybull Capital. The price was well below the book value of £55m.
Morrisons has made the disposals in the context of declining sales. Today, it reported a 2.7% decline in like-for-like sales for the half year to 2 August and a 35% drop in underlying profit before tax to £117m.
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