Blakemore Retail and trade partner Eat 17 have snapped up eight My Local sites.
Seven sites located in Rhyl, Rugeley, Essex, Cardiff, Chatham, Lambeth and Witham will belong to Blakemore Retail, while another in Whitstable will be an Eat 17 outlet.
All stores are expected to be up and running over the next week - just three weeks after My Local went into administration - and will keep on the former staff.
Blakemore’s stores range from 2,200 to 3,000 sq ft and are currently undergoing Spar rebranding. “I am confident the seven new stores will prove to be a fantastic addition to the business and I am delighted to welcome the staff and management teams to Blakemore Retail,” said Blakemore Retail MD Geoff Hallam.
The sale brings the total number of Blakemore company-owned stores to 302. The Eat 17 site on My Local store on Whitstable High Street is 3,200 sq ft and will initially open purely as a c-store. It will not undergo any major layout changes until late August, when an ice cream parlour using local ingredients will open.
“We are really excited to be able to acquire this site,” said Eat 17 owner James Brundle. “Whitstable is a great fit for our brand - the perfect mix of tradition and trendiness.”
The store has a further two storeys above the convenience operation, which might be developed into a bar or restaurant concept in the future, suggested AF Blakemore, whose franchise arm Blakemore Trade Partners oversaw the sale. “There’s a lot of potential for the upstairs space,” said AF Blakemore development manager George Duffy.
Blakemore Trade Partners is looking at four further sites for Eat 17 in the London area and aims to have a 10-strong store estate in the next few years.
No comments yet