Kwik Save's new owners want to target the convenience store market

BTTF, a new company specifically set up to operate Kwik Save, bought the brand and 171 stores for an undisclosed sum.

Somerfield will rebrand 102 Kwik Save sites it has kept. A further 77 stores have been sold to other retailers thought to include Netto and Aldi.

BTTF said it planned to reposition the Kwik Save brand as a leader in the convenience store market.

BTTF will take over the running of the Kwik Save brand from midnight on Monday.

Revamp

"Today marks a recommitment to the Kwik Save brand and its already-strong local presence," said BTTF chief executive Paul Niklas, who is set to become the new managing director of Kwik Save.

"We will, over time, be refreshing the store image whilst maintaining the existing offer of quality branded products at competitive prices."

Over the past four or five years Kwik Save has lost millions of pounds, despite more having more than �130m pumped into the business, a Somerfield spokesman said.

A consortium led by property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, which included Apax Partners and Barclays Capital, took over Somerfield in December last year in a �1.1bn deal.