The supermarket giant aims to open around 70 high street convenience stores under the M Local brand, using the latest deal to target prime locations in London and the south east.

The expansion will herald a surge of work opportunities for contractors Longcross, Uplands, Base Build Services and Williams Southern, all on the M Local framework.

Morrison has already trialled a dozen of its new convenience stores and will now ramp up the opening programme on the back of the Blockbuster deal.

Morrisons snapped up seven stores of failed camera retailer Jessops last month and is widely tipped to be in the hunt for bargains in the HMV store sell-off.

Dalton Philips, Chief Executive of Morrisons, said: “Convenience is one of the fastest growing sectors of the market and developing our offer in this channel is a key part of our growth strategy.  We believe that convenient food doesn’t have to mean dull food.”