Waitrose is set to expand its delivery service outside of London after agreeing a deal with online supplier Ocado .
The new five-year contract between the two retailers will give Ocado exclusivity in London (within the M25) but allow Waitrose to roll out its Deliver service to 125 of its supermarkets outside the capital.
Waitrose had previously been hindered from expanding further because of the minority stake in Ocado held by parent company John Lewis .
Tensions grew after Ocado claimed it had the right to close the Waitrose Deliver service during the first few years of its delivery contract with the supermarket chain.
Waitrose, the UK’s fifth largest grocery retailer, has increased the number of its stores offering Waitrose Deliver outside London by 60 per cent, from 40 to 94, since the end of 2007.
The company said the expansion has helped boost online grocery sales by 85 per cent and plans to introduce its service to another 31 stores by the end of the year.
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