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My Local has reportedly filed a notice of intention to appoint KPMG as administrator, putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk in the process.

The convenience chain was taken over from Morrisons by Mike Greene – backed by investment firm Greybull Capital – a year ago.

Greene has been working with KPMG to assess options over its future, including placing the company into administration. The accountancy firm is expected to be formally appointed as administrator next week over the 130-store chain, according to reports in The Telegraph.

Greene bought the stores from Morrisons for £25m last September and began trading as My Local in October. It is understood Morrisons could face liabilities of £20m as part of the sale agreement.

As The Grocer has reported, My Local has been beset with problems from day one. Its shelves were emptied before it started trading after it failed to reach an agreement with Morrisons over a price for the remaining stock. Many store were delayed in opening as a result, while others opened with huge gaps on the shelves.

Greene admitted in February that sales were currently £25m below the levels achieved when the stores were still owned by Morrisons as the chain lost customers as a result of gaps in the availability.

For the full story on thegrocer.co.uk this morning click here.

Morning update

British households are optimistic about their holiday plans for the rest of the year despite on-going economic and political uncertainty surrounding Britain’s membership of the EU, according to the latest Greene King leisure tracker.

More than 70% of adults expect to take at least one holiday between now and the end of 2016, with most Britons expected to take a ‘staycation’ during the period. Around 85% of British households expect to take at least one domestic holiday between now and the end of the year, a 3% increase on the same figure captured in 2015. Overall, the average British household spent £207 on out of home leisure in May; a £7, or 3%, decrease, year-on-year as half-term fell in June.

Rob Rees, Greene King group marketing director, said: “On the eve of a momentous decision for the British public, this month’s Greene King leisure spend tracker suggests that many households are looking forward to enjoying some well-earned holidays post referendum. Meanwhile, total leisure spending in May has fallen compared with the same period last year, driven mostly by a sizeable reduction in spending on other leisure activities.”

There are no updates on the London Stock Exchange this morning, but the FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 6,234.17 points. Ocado has continued its good run (see below), rising 1.65 so far to 249.3p, but Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons all slipped into the red.

Yesterday in the City

There wasn’t much market news flow to influence stock prices in grocery fmcg yesterday, but the FTSE 100 edged up 0.4% to 6,226.55 points as polls showed the vote on whether Britain will leave or remain in the EU balanced on a knife edge.

Ocado (OCDO) continued to make gains to make up for recent significant losses with the stock rising 3% to 245.4p – up 11% since Friday.

Fever-Tree (FEVR) climbed 2.7% to 724.9p, which is close to its all-time 725p high in early June as the tonic brand once again upped its trading expectations for the year.

Fizzy drinks group AG Barr (BAG) was also up 2.5% to 529.5p, with Tesco (TSCO) rising 1.7% to 164.2p, Unilever (ULVR) up 1.2% to 3,155p and Dairy Crest (DCG) up 1.2% to 558.5p.

Stevia firm PureCircle (PURE) slumped 5.1% to 280p, with Greencore (GNC), down 1.5% to 323p, Britvic (BVIC), down 1.3% to 644.5p, and Marks & Spencer (MKS), down 0.8% to 364p, all among the fallers.

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