SAFEWAY in Jersey and Guernsey made an operating loss of £1.1m in the first three months of the new ownership under the CI Traders Group.

CI Traders acquired the two stores from Morrisons at the end of April for £51 million and rebranded them as New Safeway in July.

But some shoppers were unhappy about the change of ownership – announced hours before the introduction of Jersey’s new Competition Law – and moved their buying power to the supermarket rival Co-op.

The interim results, released yesterday afternoon, also show that in the three months prior to the takeover the two stores under Morrisons reported profit before tax of £1.5m, and profit before tax of £5.2m in the 47 weeks prior to 30 January this year.

Nevertheless, CI Traders yesterday reported an overall 16.7% rise in profit before tax, to £11.2m, in the six months to 30 July, mainly due to its property interests.

The group is currently considering a takeover bid, reputedly from private equity firm Alchemy Partners, but shareholders will not be advised of the board’s decision until the offer period required by stock exchange rules has come to a close.