THE Co-operative Group is buying 21 chemists' shops from Alliance Boots, which has signed contracts for the sale of almost all of the branches it put on the market after its é7bn merger last year.

The group agreed to dispose of 96 sites, as part of the approval from competition authorities for the Boots' link-up with Alliance UniChem.

Now the Co-op's Middleton-based pharmacy division has agreed to snap up branches in County Durham, Northumberland, East Anglia, Devon and Somerset, to take the number of branches in the group to 454. The Co-op will take on around 170 Alliance Boots staff. The deal should be completed by mid-March, if the Office of Fair Trading gives approval.

Martin Beaumont, the Co-op's chief executive, said it was a "very significant acquisition".

He added: "In recent years our pharmacy business has grown rapidly, and we continue to have ambitious plans for future expansion and development. These new additions are excellent businesses and will complement our existing branches."

The amount being paid by the Co-op is undisclosed.

The Co-op is Britain's third-biggest pharmacy chain and dispenses around 27m prescriptions a year.