Marks and Spencer is reported to have plans to sell off up to half of its Simply Food convenience stores.

Yesterday’s The Mail on Sunday claimed that M&S is in talks with rivals such as Waitrose about the possible sale of the small-scale stores, which are proving unprofitable.

M&S is finding the high rents for the shops in question a burden, particularly as turnover has not reached anything like desired levels, said the article.

M&S, however, played down the speculation around the chain of 87 high street, railway station and airport stores - the first of which was opened in 2001: "Simply Food is successful for M&S and we have already said that we will look at changing a very small number of our stores," said an M&S spokeswoman.

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