Safeway (UK)

Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987.

Safeway was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Morrisons in March 2004. Most of its 479 stores were rebranded as Morrisons, with others being sold off. The brand disappeared from the UK on 24 November 2005.

History

Early years

The business was established in 1962 in the UK and Safeway Inc. opened its first store in the United Kingdom in Bedford in 1963: it was then known as Safeway Food Stores. By 1987, it had 133 stores around the United Kingdom.

Acquisition by Argyll Foods

In 1987, Safeway Inc. put Safeway Food Stores up for sale. Argyll Foods eventually secured it for the sum of £681m, with £600m raised through a rights issue that was three times oversubscribed. The merger of Argyll and Safeway was hailed by commentators as one of the most successfully integrated retail combinations in the UK, bringing together Argyll's experienced management team with a strong but somewhat underdeveloped retail brand.