Morrisons continues store acquisition in the South of England

Morrisons strategy to increase its presence in the south of England sees it acquiring sites in Dorking and Croydon. The Bradford based supermarket chain has been outbidding its rivals in what has been regarded as "aggressive" behaviour that is "distorting the market".

A spokesperson for Morrisons has said that the success of securing new stores has been down to the quality of their proposals and that fact they are investing in local economies and creating jobs, rather than simply to do with price.

Last year the supermarket chain increased pre-tax profits to £869m which is a rise of 13%. The rapid growth has been attributed to chief executive Dalton Philips who joined the grocer in 2010.

The supermarket was founded in Yorkshire in 1899 and until recently concentrated its development in the north of England. It now has over 400 stores in the UK and will launch its convenience stores along the M62 corridor in July this year under the name M Local.