Graves has stated that the deal was not designed to 'feed the fat cats', but would mean lower prices at the enlarged group's convenience stores. He added that it was a myth that the debt leveraged in the deal would be too high to cope with.
Graves said: 'Debt will be a lot less than people anticipate. It's not£100 million - it's more likely to be£80 million to£90 million. If it was too highly geared, banks wouldn't be supporting this.'
He also defended the proposed£9 million payment to Nisa chairman Dudley Ramsden, saying the gesture was in return for a lifetime of service to Nisa-Today's'.
The Costcutter chairman has not spoken about the merger since it was revealed in May.
The original merger proposal gave Nisa members a 40 per cent stake, but this was increased to 60 per cent last week following protests from Nisa members over the loss of mutual status and the levels of debt that the new company would take on. Under the new terms, management will take a 30 per cent share, with backer Kaupthing, the Icelandic bank, taking the remainder.
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