He refused to be drawn on possible shop closures and speculation about thousands of job losses within the UK.
TV retail expert Mary Portas proposed a national market day and relaxation of rules to stem shop closures.
The deal is expected to deliver cost savings of £35m a year through job losses and shop closures.
Shop closures outstripped openings by 1,997 from January to the end of June, according to the retail data firm Local Data Company.
The speed of shop closures has certainly slowed since then, with the lowest closure rate for five years, according to PwC research compiled by the Local Data Company LDCC).
However, wary of alienating the religious right, which supports Sunday shop closures, he made clear he opposed a wholesale lifting of restrictions.
A spokesman said all policies were safe and claims would continue to be handled but there would be a short delay in processing them because of shop closures.
The stores bought are among the 164 stores earmarked for closure by Deloitte last week, which threatens around 800 jobs and comes on top of the 168 shop closures and 760 job cuts already announced.
Gala Coral boss Carl Leaver, who will be executive deputy chairman for 12 months, said there will be no shop closures, and any stores that have to be disposed of for competition reasons will be sold as a going concern.
Many high streets across the country have not fully recovered from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, when shop closures accelerated dramatically and chains including Woolworths, Zavvi and MFI disappeared.
