Morrisons has sold its stake in the US grocery delivery service Fresh Direct for £45m, in a boost to the struggling supermarket’s bottom line.
It is understood that Fresh Direct, which is based in Long Island, New York, has bought back the stake that Morrisons acquired for about £31m in 2011.
Bruno Monteyne, a retail analyst at Bernstein Research, said the deal was a good move for Morrisons.
“It has to be positive,” he said. “Morrisons will be able to focus on its core business and is getting a very good price for this stake.”
The sale winds up the exit from some expensive investments Morrisons made in its early attempts to get a foot in the fast-growing online market.
The supermarket bought Fresh Direct after acquiring British online retailer Kiddicare for £70m, which it tried to expand through physical stores. But in 2014 it was forced to pull out of its expensive foray into children’s clothing and toys at a cost of £163m.
Morrisons has since launched an online grocery service in partnership with specialist provider Ocado, which it expanded last week. It has also signed a deal to supply wholesale groceries to Amazon, helping to underpin the online retailer’s fresh food service in the UK.
