The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has approved the sale of 27 Focus stores to Home Retail Group.

The OFT said that the acquisition had led to 12 DIY overlaps in the Woking area that could have been a competitive concern.

However, after an investigation and the reduction in size of one store, the OFT was satisfied with the purchase and decided not to refer it to the Competition Commission.

OFT senior director of mergers Simon Pritchard said: “This case demonstrates that while companies in the UK are perfectly entitled to take the risks of completing mergers that could raise competition issues, the OFT will proactively intervene to protect consumers in local retail markets where appropriate. In this case, Woking consumers will benefit from the unwinding of the completed deal to restore DIY store competition in that area.”

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