More than 300 Spar branches across the north of England have been struck by a cyber attack that has left them unable to receive credit card payments or use email since Sunday.
Supermarket chain Spar has been forced to close a number of stores because of the cyber attack, although some sites have managed to stay open by accepting cash.
It is unclear whether any customer data has been compromised by the hack.
A spokesman for the retailer said only stores across the north of England run by distribution partner James Hall & Company were impacted.
Spar operates 2,500 stores in the UK, which are run as franchises by different companies that span five major areas in the UK.
James Hall & Company supplies products to almost 600 of Spar’s stores.
This incident marks the second substantial cyber attack of a grocer operating in the UK in recent months after Tesco’s website and app were taken offline by an attempted hack in October that left customers unable to place orders.
The Information Commissioner’s Office and National Cyber Security Centre both said they were aware of Spar’s cyber attack and would be making further enquiries.
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