TWO food stores in the region will become Co-ops as part of a multi-million pound deal with supermarket chain Morrisons.

The sale of Safeway stores in Stokesley and Pickering, North Yorkshire, to the Co-op is part of a five-store deal between United Co-operatives and Morrisons, subject to approval by the Office of Fair Trading.

The announcement comes only days after Morrisons sold its last batch of Safeway stores to satisfy conditions imposed by the OFT in December 2003, in return for its approval of the £3bn takeover of the group.

United is buying the former Safeway stores in Stokesley and Pickering, as well as others in Hedon, near Hull, and Bingley, near Bradford, as well as a Morrisons store at Saltney, near Chester.

Joanne McGuinness, of the Usdaw union, said: "The Morrisons staff have all been transferred under the Transfer Undertaking Protection of Employment (Tupe) regulations, which means that they will transfer to the Co-op under exactly the same terms and conditions they enjoy now."

Morrisons has been selling stores since it bought Safeway last year. It started with 600 and is expected to have 360 by the end of the year.

A company spokesman said 52 stores had been sold to satisfy competition rules, while the rest had been sold as part of a reorganisation.

"Many of those stores sold don't meet the Morrisons format - we have sold a lot of convenience stores and smaller shops," he said.

Yesterday's announcement will bring the total number of food outlets in United's portfolio to 514.

The company has been pursuing an aggressive acquisition policy in the Midlands and Yorkshire. This has included the purchase of the Neighbours and Quality Fare chains.

Peter Marks, United's chief executive, said: "United is continually expanding, both organically and through acquisition, across all its businesses - food, travel, motor group, health care and funerals."