FOODSTORE giant Somerfield has put local supermarkets on offer as a massive sales wars rages.

It aims to sell its Kwik Save stores in Leigh, Atherton and Hindley Green.

And an announcement about the future of its showpiece Somerfield supermarket, which opened in Tyldesley in April 1998, is expected next week following a review of the companies 1400 nationwide outlets.

A Somerfield spokesman said staff were called to a Monday afternoon meeting to explain the situation.

"We are hoping to make an announcement by the end of next week," the spokesman said, dismissing local gossip that the store has already been sold.

"We are being approached by the big supermarkets - our big stores are attractive buys for them."

The company aims to shed most of its 350 Kwik Save branches and 140 of its Somerfield superstores.

But the company stresses it wants to sell going concerns and says jobs at its 1,400 nationwide outlets are not under threat. The Ladies Lane Kwik Save outlet in Hindley is one earmarked to remain under Somerfield control as the company ducks out of the stores war which is waging between Asda and Tesco.

Somerfield says it wants to concentrate on main street convenience type shops.

A spokesman for the Bristol-based company said: "We are focusing more on top-up rather than major shopping."

The company hopes to net over £200 million from the sell-off.

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