LEADING supermarket chain Tesco yesterday announced that it is buying 30 former Safeway stores on BP forecourts from rival Morrisons.

The group, which last week faced a call from Asda owner Wal-Mart for an inquiry into its 30.5 per cent share of the overall grocery market, said it would convert the shops at the petrol stations into its Tesco Express convenience store format.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, although Morrison said the 30 sites had a gross value of £55.3m on January 30.

The sites include three petrol stations and stores in the region - two in Middlesbrough and one in Newcastle.

Tesco, Britain's biggest grocers, already has 550 Tesco Express sites nationwide and has been expanding in the convenience sector, seen as a major growth area.

The company said: "This is a small deal that will allow Tesco to convert freehold sites in good locations."

The move, subject to approval from the Office of Fair Trading, is the latest in the rationalisation of the Morrisons chain since its £3bn takeover of Safeway in March last year.

Wal-Mart president and chief executive Lee Scott said at the weekend it was time for the Government to act over Tesco's share of the grocery market.