West country c-store chain Smile Newshops has boosted its presence in the Bath and Bristol area by acquiring 15 stores from the JCR News group.

JCR owners Mark Callaway and John Newman will join Smile as commercial director and non executive director respectively. All staff at JCR’s Bath office will be offered continued employment, Smile said in a statement.

See the forthcoming issue of The Grocer magazine to read about Smile’s chief executive Jeremy Symonds’ plans for future development.