Morrisons is underrstood to have seen off EG Group to secure a rescue package for stricken convenience chain McColl’s.

Although there has been no official announcement, a number of reports, including from Sky News and BBC, have suggested Morrisons will acquire McColl’s from administration, beating off late interest from forecourt empire EG Group.

McColl’s, which announced it would appoint administrators on Friday, is set to officially appoint PwC as administrator today and will be brought out of administration in a pre-pack deal.

Weekend reports suggested both Morrisons and EG Group put in improved offers yesterday ahead of a deadline imposed by PwC.

Morrisons’ improved bid is thought to pay McColl’s lenders fully and upfront, an improvement from the supermarket’s bid last week which previously looked to roll the debt over onto its own balance sheet.

It is understood Morrisons’ bid includes commitments to retain all 1,100 stores and 16,000 workers, as well as honouring all of its outstanding pension obligations.

An announcement is expected to be made by PwC today.

Retail analyst Nick Bubb suggested the Morrisons deal would make more sense for the chain tha EG Group’s proposal.

“Common sense would suggest that, as the wholesale supplier, Morrisons is better placed than EG Group to run the bankrupt business,” he said. “So we will see today if common sense prevails.”

McColl’s fell into administration on Friday after the chain said “constructive discussions” with Morrisons to find a solution to its funding issues “had made significant progress”, but that its lenders “made clear they were not satisfied that such discussions would reach an outcome acceptable to them”.

Therefore the company’s senior lenders declined to further extend the waiver of the company’s banking covenants, forcing the chain into administration.

Morrisons confirmed on Friday that it had put forward a rescue proposal ahead of the administration and expressed disappointment that it was rejected.

A Morrisons spokesperson said on Friday: “We put forward a proposal that would have avoided today’s announcement that McColl’s is being put into administration, kept the vast majority of jobs and stores safe, as well as fully protecting pensioners and lenders.

“For thousands of hardworking people and pensioners, this is a very disappointing, damaging and unnecessary outcome.”

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