DUNNES STORES is reviewing the open market value of a number of its 153 supermarket sites, most of which are directly owned by the company itself. The reasons for the exercise, which takes place as property values slump in the declining economy, are unclear.
Reliable property market sources told The Irish Timesthat the company has approached a number of professional firms to assess the value of some of its Irish outlets.
Dunnes has 114 outlets in the Republic, 23 in Northern Ireland, six in England, five in Scotland and five in Spain.
According to the sources, there is an expectation in the property sector that some of the company's non-core stores may come on the market in the near future.
Some of the company's contacts with property advisers were tentative by nature, and it not known whether it has contractually engaged any firm to carry out a valuation.
While Dunnes is believed to have spent several hundred million euro building new large-format stores in recent years, it retains a number of smaller outlets in the same catchment areas.
The sources believe some of those older stores may be sold, either as part of a sale of parts of the business or as part of a retrenchment given the pressure on all retailers as economic conditions worsen.
Retail trade union Mandate this week claimed that the company "may be sold" in the near future, but did not provide any direct evidence that the company was being prepared for a sale.
Dunnes Stores, one the largest and most profitable privately-owned companies in the State, declined to comment on the claims by the union, which said it had been inundated with inquiries from worried staff who were concerned the business might be sold.
In a statement yesterday, Mandate said it was disappointed at the lack of communication between the company and its workers about informal "reports" that a sale was likely.
Such speculation centres around the possibility of a transaction with US retailer Wal-Mart, the owner of the Asda chain in Britain and Northern Ireland.
Wal-Mart did not respond when asked this week whether it was contemplating a transaction with Dunnes Stores.
Property and retail sources say Asda would find the Dunnes Stores business attractive, but was unlikely to have any interest in acquiring some of chain's smaller outlets. If preparations were being made for a transaction with Asda, this would provide a possible explanation for a valuation exercise on non-core outlets.
Equally possible, sources said, was that the property portfolio was under review for internal company reasons related to financial and business planning.
As a private company, Dunnes Stores maintains a strict policy of only rarely commenting on its affairs. The company's director of textiles, Margaret Heffernan, did not return a call last night.
Established as a clothing retailer in 1944 by the late Ben Dunne snr, the company entered the grocery business in the 1960s. The company opened its first Northern Ireland store in 1971.
