Musgrave expands in North with acquisition of food wholesaler

Cork-based retailing group Musgrave, which owns the Centra and Supervalu brands, has expanded its Northern Ireland presence with the acquisition of food wholesaler J&J Haslett for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction has doubled Musgrave's total share of the food retailing market in the North from 8 per cent to 16 per cent, a spokeswoman for the group said yesterday.

J&J Haslett owns and manages the Mace and XL Stop and Shop retail brands throughout the North, as well as operating the Holmes cash and carry business. Turnover last year was £192 million (€282 million), and the company currently employs 360 people.

The business was previously owned by retail group BWG before being bought out by a team of senior management in 2003 after BWG failed to close a deal with rival food distributor Henderson.

Managing director at J&J Haslett Michael Hamilton said the group was keen to find a buyer with a similar value and ethos to ensure its continued growth, and he was "delighted" that the business has been bought by Musgrave.

"We know that Musgrave group is the ideal partner of our retailers going forward, and are confident that its excellent track record in the Irish and United Kingdom markets will ensure that the business continues to grow."

However, once the transaction receives regulatory approval in Ireland and the UK and the deal is completed (which is expected to happen in September), Mr Hamilton is to step down and will be replaced by Martin Kelleher, who is currently sales director of Supervalu in the Republic.

Finance director Ronnie Lewis will also leave J&J Haslett upon completion of the deal.

This means that of the management team that acquired the company in 2003, only directors Tom Uprichard and Michael Patterson will remain on after this change in ownership.

Commenting on the acquisition yesterday, chief executive of Musgrave Chris Martin described J&J Haslett as an excellent business with a strong position in the Northern Ireland convenience market.

"The bringing together of this well-run business, combined with the expertise of Musgrave in developing retail brands . . . and using our scale and buying power to the maximum benefit of our customers will, we believe, secure the future growth of J&J Haslett," Mr Martin said.

Musgrave operates one of the State's largest franchise networks of supermarkets and convenience stores, and also has significant operations in Britain and Spain. Its turnover grew by 4.5 per cent in 2006 to €4.6 billion.