OFT gives Tesco green light

The Office of Fair Trading has cleared Tesco's acquisition of 21 former BP/Safeway petrol forecourts from rival grocer Morrisons.

As the supermarket was given the green light, the OFT said it would not refer Tesco's purchases to the Competition Commission.

Tesco confirmed it would convert the stores to its Express convenience format. Following the deal, Tesco will account for about 6 per cent of all sales in the UK's£24 billion convenience market.

Morrisons has sold or closed many Safeway sites since it took over the business for£3 billion in March last year.

Tesco was originally interested in 30 petrol stations and convenience stores. No sale price was available at the time of writing, but the sites were valued at£55.3 million in August.