A 14 strong chain of c-stores has been bought by United Norwest Co-op for an undisclosed sum. United Norwest has bought the AM/PM stores from Wrexham based wholesaler CG Paletta. The stores are in Wrexham in North Wales, the Wirral on Merseyside, and on the southern tip of the co-op's territory in Shropshire. All the stores, which vary from 1,300sq ft to 2,200 sq ft, have the National Lottery and are local community stores. Paul Griffiths, general manager of the food division, said: "They are an excellent fit with our existing stores, particularly from a logistical point of view. They have been on our wanted list for a long time." He said the Co-op, which owns more than 300 c-stores in the Midlands and North West, was also on target to acquire 26 individual c-stores this year, and would still be keen to acquire other chains. In recent years United Norwest has more than doubled the size of its c-store estate and it can claim to be the largest c-store chain its territory. In the past two years it has bought the Hanburys and Nevins groups and it acquired 26 Dawn Til Dusk stores from the receiver. {{NEWS }}

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