Discount retailer B&M in £152m swoop for Yorkshire food chain Heron

Discount retailer B&M is expanding into the convenience grocery market with the acquisition of Yorkshire-based Heron Food Group.

The Liverpool-headquartered discount retailer announced the completion of the £152m swoop this morning (August 2).

Heron Food Group, which posted pre-tax profits of £8.6m in 2016 against a revenue of £274m, operates 251 stores across the North.

The company currently employs around 3,800 staff.

As part of B&M, the company said it plans to develop a new ‘discount convenience grocery brand’.

B&M was advised on the transaction by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, PwC, Gordons and Addleshaw Goddard.

The chief executive of B&M, Simon Arora, said: “B&M is already the UK’s leading general merchandise discount retailer, serving four million shoppers per week.

“The addition of a complementary, proven discount convenience grocery brand to our own structural growth story gives the combined business an even longer, exciting growth runway.”

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