Sainsbury’s is to buy 24 stores from The Co-operative Group in a deal worth £83 million.

The number-three retailer plans to spend a further £45m fitting out 19 of the stores as supermarkets, while the reminder will trade as Sainsbury’s Locals.

A total of 22 stores belonged to Somerfield, which was taken over by The Co-operative Group earlier this week.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King said: “We are delighted to acquire these stores, which are an excellent addition to our store estate and we are pleased to welcome 1,400 new colleagues to Sainsbury’s."

The sale, which awaits approval from the Office of Fair Trading, will go through in May.

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