Marks & Spencer and Ocado have confirmed a deal which will give the High Street retailer a home delivery service for the first time.
The deal will see M&S buy a 50% share of Ocado’s retail business for £750m.
The joint venture will be called Ocado and will deliver M&S products from September 2020 at the latest, when Ocado’s deal with Waitrose expires.
M&S will fund the deal by selling £600m of shares and by cutting its dividend payout to shareholders by 40%.
Steve Rowe, M&S chief executive said: “This is a transformational step forward in shaping the future of M&S and in becoming a truly digital first retailer with at least a third of the business online.”
M&S and Ocado will each appoint two directors to the board of the joint venture, with Ocado appointing the chief executive and M&S the chair.
