German supermarket chain Spar Handels has sold its cash & carry division to Metro arm C&C Schaper in the final phase of its restructuring. Spar can now concentrate on its company owned estate under the Intermarche and Eurospar banners, the Netto discount chain and the 3,000-plus independents it supplies as a wholesaler. The 25 C&C outlets have an average size of 2,600 sq m so the deal surprised some observers given Metro typically operates in stores of between 5,000-17,000 sq m. Metro insisted the sites could be "easily integrated", however. A spokesman added: "This will enable Schaper to strengthen its delivery business and cut admin costs." {{NEWS }}

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