ABERYSTWYTH could have six stores ultimately owned and supplied by supermarket giants Tesco after a merger deal with the Booker Group was announced on Friday.

Tesco has agreed to buy Booker, the UK’s biggest food wholesaler, in a £3.7bn deal that would create the “UK’s leading food business”, the firms said.

As well as its wholesale business which has a store on the Glanyrafon Industrial Estate, Booker owns thousands of convenience stores, including under the Londis, Budgens and Premier brands.

If the merger is approved by shareholders and competition regulators, Aberystwyth would see the number of Tesco-owned shops jump from two to six.

As well as the large Tesco store on Mill Street and the Tesco Express store on North Parade, the Budgens store on the Ystwyth Retail Park, the Premier Express store on North Parade and the Londis-branded Castle stores at the top of Great Darkgate Street will all be ultimately under the control of the supermarket giants, if the merger goes ahead.

The Premier, Londis and Budgens stores are franchises and will remain independently-owned with no effect on the look or running of the business, outline plans have indicated, in line with current lease and contract arrangements.

There is no suggestion that any of the Booker sites will become Tesco stores and it is not known if the merger will see any store closures from the Booker portfolio.

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