Morrisons is to rescue collapsed retailer McColl's after the supermarket giant beat a rival bid from the billionaire owners of Asda, BusinessLive understands.
The convenience chain signalled its intension to file for administration on Friday in a move which plunged the future of its 1,100 shops and 16,000 staff into doubt.
Final bids were submitted ahead of the 6pm deadline on Sunday by EG Group, the retail giant owned by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, and Morrisons.
The offer from Blackburn-headquartered EG Group, whose brands also include LEON, Cooplands and Euro Garages, included keeping 6,000 jobs and all of McColl's stores open. READ MORE: Click here to sign up to the BusinessLive North West newsletter It was reported this morning that EG had bowed to pressure to look after McColl's pension liabilities, in a move that would have meant that its 2,000 members would avoid a cut of up to 20% to their promised pensions over their lifetimes.
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