Centra the retail group, recorded a combined turnover of £262 million (€333 million) last year, an increase of 16 per cent on the 1997 performance.

The group, which held its national conference in Killarney yesterday, comprises 275 independently owned stores in both the Republic and the North. In the past year, 32 new stores have been added to the Centra Group, including three in Northern Ireland where a further six are scheduled to open by year-end.

The franchise to the Centra Stores, which now account for around 5 per cent of the total grocery market, is owned by Musgraves. Profit figures for Centra will be included in the group's results in April.