SPAR Ireland will open at least 25 new stores and create 400 new jobs over the next 12 months, the franchise said yesterday. Over one third of these will be in the Dublin area and will include two petrol forecourt joint ventures with Texaco and McDonald's Restaurant.

The Amsterdam based franchise is owned in the Republic by BWG Foods. The 273 retail outlets that form the group across 25 counties have a combined annual turnover of £210 million and employ 3,400 people. The 1997 expansion plan is expected to cost some £10 million and will include a £500,000 advertising campaign.

"Since 1984, SPAR's revenues are up fourfold," said Mr Leo Crawford, BWG Food's managing director.

The success of SPAR could be attributed to several factors, he said. The stores were well placed and emphasised the needs of local consumers, particularly in terms of range, service and value.

So far in 1996, there had been 28 new SPAR shops opened, and 14 existing stores were significantly redeveloped, said Mr Peter Kealy, SPAR's sales director for the Republic. He said he expected the franchise to exceed its target of 25 new shops next year.

The franchise's international managing director, Dr Gordon Campbell, drew attention to the first ever "brand alliance" project, in Drogheda.

This involved three brands operating from the same petrol forecourt. SPAR for convenience purchases, Texaco for petrol and McDonald's for fast food.

In 1997, the three companies would open two more of these developments, both on the outskirts of Dublin, Mr Crawford said.

Dr Campbell said the franchise was also particularly taken with the success of the SPAR shop at the car park entrance at Dublin airport. The store's hours of business were determined by the latest Aer Rianta flight schedules, he said, which usually meant it was open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.

The airport store was expected to have annual sales of more than £1 million, Mr Kealy added. The franchise chiefs were pleased with its "renewal strategy", under which its retailers received grants from the Government to redevelop sites in Dublin's inner city areas.

SPAR was founded in The Netherlands in 1932 by Mr Adrian Van Well, banding small wholesalers and retailers to fight competition from larger companies. It now has 19,500 retail outlets in 27 countries, combined retail sales of $30 billion (£17.9 billion) and 190,000 employees.