Superquinn's former deputy chairman Eamonn Quinn has left the company after the completion of its €450 million sale to Select Retail Holdings, the group backed by property developers Bernard McNamara and Gerry O'Reilly.
Mr Quinn, son of Superquinn founder Senator Feargal Quinn, will manage the interests of the family, whose members are the main beneficiaries of the takeover.
Senator Quinn is now non-executive president of the business. Dublin accountant Simon Burke (45), former chairman of the Hamleys toy shop in London, has taken the role of executive chairman of the chain.
The transaction is the second-largest retail takeover since the €800 million buyout of Quinnsworth by Tesco in 1997.
Completion of the deal was held back due to delays in finalising Superquinn's 2004 accounts as a result of its implementation last year of a new accounting system.
As Mr Burke took charge yesterday, he promised to expand the range of food sold in the stores, improve the level of service and upgrade the buildings.
"Superquinn was always a good brand, but it has not been its best in the last few years and disappointed a lot of customers.
"There will be only improvements. In the case of range, we have already increased the selection in our stores and dramatically reduced the number of gaps on the shelves."
In addition to Mr Burke, Mr McNamara and Mr O'Reilly, the consortium comprises property consultants David Courtney and Bernard Doyle, corporate finance expert David Cantrell and tax consultant Kieran Ryan.
The involvement of the property developers has led to speculation that some of the stores may be sold off as residential sites.
Mr Burke did not rule out closures, but said only the poorly performing supermarkets would be shut.
"I want to make it very clear that no store will be closed in order to build apartments. If we close a store it will be because it is not successful as a retail outlet."
While Superquinn was repeatedly outbid on sites it wanted to acquire for expansion in recent years, Mr Burke believed that the group's backers would be in a position to buy sites in the future.
His immediate priority is to improve the offering in the existing stores.
"The main thing is to reassure customers that we're not going to tear the heart out of Superquinn. We are going to fix it rather than try to turn it into something it is not," he said.
