Musgrave Group has agreed to buy a 91% stake in Carrick Supermarket Ltd, the operating company for the SuperValu in Carrick-on-Suir, with the intention of selling it on to another independent retailer.
At present, 31 of the 223 SuperValu stores in the Republic of Ireland are held by franchise owner Musgrave, and the rest are operated independently by franchisees. SuperValu has a further 38 stores in Northern Ireland.
The deal was notified to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) for clearance.
Carrick Supermarket Ltd was established in 1999 and is jointly owned by Mary and Patrick 'PJ' Guinan. Turnover increased by more than €500,000 in the 12 months to the end of June 2024, rising from more than €13.5m to under €14.1m.
Profit also increased from €420,000 in 2023 to €478,700 last year as costs remained relatively stable. The company had retained earnings of more than €3m, and €1.7m in cash and equivalents.
Carrick Supermarket employs 80 people, including three in administration and 77 in retail, with staff costs of nearly €1.8m. Musgrave said the store would continue to trade as normal and no jobs would be affected.
"Musgrave can confirm it has agreed to acquire SuperValu Carrick-on-Suir, which has been operated by PJ and Mary Guinan for the past number of years. The acquisition is subject to approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)," Musgrave said in a statement
"We want to thank PJ and Mary for their commitment and dedication to the community throughout their time running the store. Over the years, they have been great retailers, deeply embedded in the local area and always striving to provide the best service to their customers. We wish them all the best as they move into this next chapter of their lives.
"Following the acquisition, Musgrave will operate the store while working towards transitioning it to an independent retailer. In the meantime, the store will continue to trade as normal, with no impact on staff."
Group turnover at Musgrave topped €5bn in 2023, with profit after tax increasing from €99m to €103.9m.
Of the €6.5bn in retail sales generated by Musgrave brands, SuperValu brought in €3.5bn and Centra €2.1bn. Musgrave also owns the Daybreak, Dialprix and Mace (Northern Ireland) brands.
SuperValu employs approximately 16,000 people and works with 1,800 suppliers, providing 75% of goods sold by the retailer.
The chain held a 20.3% share of the grocery market in January, making it the third most popular supermarket behind Dunnes Stores (25%) and Tesco (24.1%) despite a 4.2% uplift in sales year-on-year. Figures from Kantar show SuperValu shoppers averaged 23.8 trips over the previous 12 weeks.
Musgrave was cleared to buy Healy Supermarkets, which operated a SuperValu store and Tara Newsagents in Dunshauglin, in November.
Photo: Guinan's SuperValu, Carrick-on-Suir. (Pic: Google Maps)
