AF Blakemore is in talks to sell its Penrith cash & carry depot to rival Bidfood.
The wholesaler said it has launched a “period of consultation” with 14 members of staff that work at the Cumbria depot.
“It is our intention for all former Blakemore Penrith employees to be offered employment with Bidfood upon completion of the acquisition,” said a Blakemore Wholesale spokesman.
Bidfood is expected to give further details of the deal in February.
Blakemore declined to comment when asked if it would sell its remaining 12 cash & carries.
The sale comes a year after Blakemore invested £1m to refurbish and rebrand the depot as it looked to “significantly expand their presence across Cumbria and the Lake District”.
The grocery and foodservice depot was part of plans by Blakemore to target the hospitality and tourism industry.
Blakemore said in 2016 it was looking to increase its workforce at the depot to “50 warehouse, transport and sales staff in the future”.
Earlier this year, The Grocer reported it understood the 100-year-old business was looking to sell its cash & carries. At the time Bestway was understood to be interested in a deal for the entirety of the Blakemore business rather than just the cash & carries.
However, the idea of a complete sale was dismissed at the time by group director Geoff Hallam, who said Blakemore was “committed to growing the business for our staff, customers and suppliers”.
Blakemore made £1.3bn of sales last year and £7.3m of pre-tax profits, according to its latest accounts filed at Companies House.
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