Somerfield denies allegations of store sell-off

NEWS British supermarket, Somerfield, has denied weekend rumours it is poised to sell its chain of stores to concentrate exclusively on online sales and home deliveries. National newspaper Independent on Sunday claimed the retailer is considering the sell-off in response to angry shareholders unhappy at recent performance. A spokesman for Somerfield denied the claims. "Our 1400 stores and home shopping are complementary. We aim to have between 5 and 10 per cent of the home delivery market by 2003." The spokesman admitted the company needs to talk to shareholders about the problems of absorbing the acquisition of Kwiksave - a process, he admitted, that could take as long as five years.