Supermarket Morrisons' attempt to takeover rival Safeway has sparked speculation about the potential impact for Darlington shoppers. Stuart Mackintosh examines the possible consequences of the deal

THE announcement that Morrisons is on the verge of swallowing up a rival chain four times its size will change the face of the supermarket sector in Britain.

Its proposed takeover of Safeway, in a £2.9bn deal, has yet to be formally approved by the latter's shareholders, but has already prompted speculation of the consequences for shoppers.

Morrisons is already thriving in Darlington with stores in North Road and the out-of-town Morton Park, but its acquisition of Safeway's flagship Victoria Road site could present a problem for new management.

Publicly, bosses are non-committal, insisting that its far too early in the process to be considering a shake-up in the town.

A Morrisons spokeswoman said: "It's just too early to say anything about individual locations but it should all become clear soon."

Privately though, they will have to be looking into the viability of maintaining three large stores in the town, as well as Safeway's smaller premises in Cockerton.

Business analyst Anthony Platts, of North-East company Wise Speke, expects one major store to close.

"The larger Safeway stores are expected to come under the Morrisons name and it would be a bit odd to have three Morrisons stores in one town," he said.

"Selling one off to another company would make sense because they could cope with two."

Safeway's 60,000sq ft store, in Victoria Road, would be re-branded, but its prime location - a short walk from the town centre - and excellent parking facilities means it is likely to be spared the axe.

Morrisons' £16m, 88,000sq ft Morton Park store is also seen as a jewel in the crown for Darlington, while Safeway's Cockerton branch could be one of the 100 smaller stores across the country to hang on to the name.

It leaves doubts over North Road, but Darlington's business chiefs are hopeful of operating three Morrisons outlets.

Albion Small, of Darlington Chamber of Trade, said: "I personally think it would be a good thing for Darlington shoppers, bringing good prices.

"Morrisons is a very up-and- coming company and has been for the past few years.

"I think there is a strong likelihood that three stores will stay."

Darlington Borough Council leader John Williams said he would be seeking assurances that the takeover would not lead to store closures and job losses in the town.

The deal between the UK's fourth and fifth largest groups could be tied up by June, although rumours prevail of a rival bid from Asda.

Meanwhile, shoppers and people within the industry can be certain that rival stores such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury will be monitoring the situation in Darlington.

A Tesco spokesman said: "We are always looking at things, but we do have a programme of building new stores. It's an interesting deal, but as far as we are concerned, it's business as usual."