The Co-operative Group is understood to have appointed Credit Suisse to manage the sale process of 107 Somerfield stores.

According to The Daily Telegraph, bankers at Credit Suisse have asked for preliminary proposals from potential bidders to be submitted by August 22. The stores on offer are a mixture of freehold and leasehold properties.

About 10 London stores have been put on the market, including some in Tooting, Kentish Town and Camberwell. In the sales memorandum, Credit Suisse said the auction process represents “a unique opportunity to acquire an attractive portfolio of grocery retail stores and to gain scale at a national and/or local level”.

A Co-op spokesman said it had written to a number of parties seeking expressions of interest. The Co-op is looking to work with the Office of Fair Trading to resolve competition issues. =

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