More people are shopping locally during coronavirus lockdowns in a bid to avoid busy supermarkets where they fear close proximity to others could increase the risk of infection.

Jonathan Miller, Chief Executive of McColl’s Retail Group plc, said “Over the last 12 months we have seen strong like-for-like sales growth, driven by the positioning of our stores in key neighbourhood locations and our strong customer offer. Despite the operational challenges of the pandemic, we have made good progress on our customer-focused strategic change programme.

“We recently reached a key strategic milestone, announcing a new supply deal with Morrisons, ensuring the continued supply of supermarket quality food across our entire estate for the next six years, supported by a bank facility extension. I am delighted with the opportunity this brings to convert 300 stores to the successful Morrisons Daily format over the next three years. These stores will be particularly well suited to the changing customer dynamics that are resulting from the pandemic.

“The past year has been exceptionally challenging for so many people, and I am incredibly proud of all our colleagues who have been working extremely hard to keep supplying our neighbourhood communities with the food, goods and services they need.”