That is the parent company of the Morrisons supermarket chain, which itself is owned by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).

Pictured: The Morrisons Daily store at L'islet, Guernsey. 

Both retailers confirmed the transaction for the stores, including six fuel forecourts, which last year had a turnover of £124.5m.

SandpiperCI announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement to sell its convenience food retail business, if the Channel Islands’ regulatory authorities approve the sale. Both sides hope that will be completed by July 2024.

Sandpiper has said that "it is anticipated that all store-based colleagues will transfer over to Wm Morrison Supermarket Limited" and therefore their jobs are not believed to be at risk, but there is a chance of redundancies among the businesses office based staff.

Sandpiper confirmed "some redundancies may occur in back-office roles, and Sandpiper will be consulting with affected staff members over the coming weeks".

Morrisons Chief Executive said Rami Baitiéh said: "We have had a solid and successful supply and franchise partnership with SandpiperCI and we have a strong relationship with the business.

"I look forward to welcoming 520 more colleagues into the Morrisons family, together with 38 popular and well-located convenience stores.

"The addition of a further 38 stores will bring us another opportunity for growth and a strong position in the important Channel Islands' convenience market."

Pictured: Guernsey's Iceland stores are being sold to the Morrisons' parent company too.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, with around 1,600 convenience stores, of which roughly 600 are franchise stores.

The company is headquartered in Bradford, England which is where Morrisons was founded by William Morrison in 1899 when he opened his first market stall selling eggs and butter. 

Morrisons' relationship with SandpiperCI dates from 2018 when the two companies signed a long-term franchise and wholesale supply agreement. Since then, 19 SandpiperCI stores have been fallen under the Morrisons Daily brand.

The SandpiperCI deal includes both Guernsey and Jersey's Morrisons Daily, Iceland, and Checkers Xpress stores, it does not include the Marks & Spencer Jersey business which will remain part of the SandpiperCI Group. Guernsey's Marks and Spencer franchise is owned separately, by Creaseys.