Price row delays Marks' US sale

THE planned sale of the Marks & Spencer's US supermarket chain, Kings, has been delayed again in a last-minute wrangle over price.

Chairman Luc Vandevelde had told the City to expect the deal to be signed by this week.

M&S is in exclusive negotiations with New York gourmet supermarket group Gristede's to sell the 27-store chain for about £120m. But a source said it would probably be a further three weeks before an announcement was made after the two sides failed to agree on price.

This is the second delay in the disposal of Kings, which was put up for sale last March as part of M&S' plans to sell or close its international operations. It was put on the market at the same time as the US menswear chain, Brooks Brothers, and stores on the Continent.

The sale of Kings and Brooks were earlier delayed by 11 September. M&S previously tried to sell Kings in 1999, but failed to get a high enough offer and withdrew the chain.