The UK’s Office of Fair Trading is studying One Stop’s planned acquisition of 33 outlets from Spar operator Alfred Jones.

The competition watchdog said it is assessing whether the deal, announced earlier this month, has “resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation”, which would affect competition in the UK. The OFT has invited written comments that must arrive by 2 August.

The deal would mean Tesco‘s One Stop UK c-store chain numbers 682 stores across England. The stores to be acquired are in the north west of the country.

Alfred Jones is a Spar UK franchisee with 49 convenience stores and 18 forecourt sites located predominantly in the North West.