A SUPERMARKET run by Budgens in Didcot is being taken over by the Co-op.

The Co-operative Group has announced it is to buy the Budgens store on Broadway, along with two other stores in Wiltshire.

The store will transfer to the Co-operative Group, with plans to start trading as a Co-op food store before Christmas.

All 11 staff employed at the store in Didcot will transfer to the Co-op.

The acquisition is the latest step in the company’s plans to expand its existing store network in the next few years.

It has a rolling programme to open more than 300 food outlets across the UK over the next three years, employing more than 7,000 people.

The Co-operative Group, the UK’s fifth largest food retailer, is focusing on stores of under 3,000sq ft, particularly in high street locations.

Paresh Pancholi, acquisitions manager for the Co-op in the central region, said: “Our new store in Didcot is in exactly the kind of location we’re looking for, and will complement our existing store network.”

The Co-operative Group has bought the three stores for an undisclosed sum.

Didcot Chamber of Commerce president Mike Foster said: “I don’t think the change of branding will worry customers who live near this part of Broadway too much.

“Having a supermarket here is a valuable resource and I am glad that is going to continue.”