Centra, the convenience store group owned by Musgraves, has reported 25% growth in turnover to £427m last year. Excluding new stores, the real growth in turnover was 18%, with no figures given for the level of profits.
Centra's sales director Michael Smith says the company's 298 stores now account for 6% of a total national market worth £6.6bn. He says customers are increasingly cash rich and time poor, hence the increasing demand for convenience stores and ready prepared goods.
Last year Centra added 28 new stores, and invested £36m in technology and capital development. The company plans to spend £40m expanding the business this year.
Musgraves also owns a 44% share in the UK grocery stores chain Budgens plc.
* Supermarket chain Tesco Ireland has cut the prices of 120 of its food and grocery items by an average of 12% from this morning. The company says it has been reducing prices on a wide range of items since September and plans further price cuts over the coming year.
Rival Superquinn responded with cuts on a range of food items and said it was matching Tesco's cuts across a number of grocery items.
