Grocery giant Sainsbury’s has said a deal to acquire a number of sites from Homebase, including two in the north, has been completed.
The supermarket chain originally announced the plan to acquire 10 stores from the DIY retailer in August, including in Omagh and Derry City’s Crescent Link Retail Park.
In a trading update on Thursday, Sainsbury’s said it actually acquired 11 Homebase sites as of September 14.
“We aim to open the first of these stores next summer and complete the conversion of all sites by the end of December 2025,” said the retailer.
Sainsbury’s, which already has the second largest share of the Northern Ireland grocery market, said group revenues increased by 2.3% to £17.2 billion for the 28 weeks to September 14, compared with the same period a year earlier.
This came as like-for-like retail sales, excluding fuel, grew by 3.4% for the period, driven by a 4.2% jump in the most recent quarter.
Sainsbury’s said this was partly boosted by an improved performance in its Argos business.
Sales across Argos were 5% lower for the half-year, after its decline slowed to 1.4% in the second quarter from a 7.7% slump in the first quarter.
The decline in the Argos business factors in the closure of the entire retail operation in the Republic of Ireland last year.
All 34 Argos stores across the border shut on June 24 2023.
On Thursday, the retail group said it is continuing its strategy of closing standalone Argos outlets, and setting up inside Sainsbury’s stores.
The company said it plans to open 13 Argos stores within Sainsbury’s and close nine standalone stores in the current financial year.
Six Argos stores were closed in the six months to September.
The locations were not disclosed in the trading update.
Meanwhile, sales in the Sainsbury’s business grew by 4.6% in the half-year, after growth improved to 5.1% in the most recent quarter as it continued to improve its share of the UK grocery market.
The retailer said it was boosted by strong sales of its Taste the Difference premium range and its Nectar membership pricing.
Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “Our food business is going from strength to strength and we’re making the biggest market share gains in the industry, with continued strong volume growth.
“More and more customers are coming to us for their big food shop, recognising our winning combination of value, quality and service.
“As we head into the festive season, there is real energy and excitement at Sainsbury’s and Argos and we’re expecting another strong performance.”
Meanwhile, pre-tax profits dropped by 51% to £76 million because of the impact of the restructuring of its financial services division through a number of major sales.
Its total underlying pre-tax profit was up 4.7% to £356 million.
