Turnover at the Musgrave-owned Super Valu supermarket chain is set to rise to £1.25 billion in the current year from £1.06 billion last year, according to Super Valu managing director Mr Eoin McGettigan.

At the Super Valu hygiene awards yesterday, Mr McGettigan said the chain's sales growth of 20 per cent was more than double the growth in the market and represented the most significant gain in market share of any of the major retail groups.

Fresh food sales grew substantially, mainly due to the introduction of Super Valu's central distribution network for chilled, fresh and frozen foods.