Top stories in the papers this week 29 April – 5 May 2011

Superquinn owners seek buyer; Supermac's plans €40m travel plazas; Petrogas reports pretax profit of €4m

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1. Superquinn owners seek buyer

Select Retail Holdings, the consortium that owns Superquinn, has approached a number of rival retailers and finance houses to ask if they would be interested in taking over the chain. The Sunday Business Post reports the approaches are understood to have taken place in recent weeks, but that Superquinn had received no expressions of interest at the time of publication.

2. Supermac’s plans €40m ‘travel plaza’ service stations

Supermac’s plans to invest as much as €40 million in up to six “travel plaza” service stations over two to three years. The Irish Times reports the investments will follow the construction of a €7 million motorway service station at Moneygall, Co Offaly, due to open next year. The group decided to pursue this area after losing out in bids to provide food services for Applegreen and Topaz motorway stations to rivals Burger King and McDonald’s.

3. Petrogas reports pretax profit of €4m

Motorway service station operator Petrogas, the company behind the Applegreen chain, made a pretax profit of €4 million in the year to the end of June 2010. The Irish Times reports this compares to a profit of €1.7 million in the previous year. Turnover increased 29% to €399 million, with the bulk of this – some €332 million – coming from Petrogas’s operations in the Republic, with the remainder relating to UK service stations.

4. Pre-tax profits at Musgrave increase by 3% to €72m

Musgrave Group plc increased its pre-tax profits by 3% to €72 million last year, the Irish Examiner reports. The group said it had completed the first year of a “transformation programme” designed to deliver greater value for consumers and retail partners. Overall sales reached €4.4 billion, down 3% on 2009, yet the retailer said it eliminated its start of the year debt of €59m to close the year with net cash of €21m.

5. Breadmaker’s gross profits rise to €3.5m

Breadmaker McCambridge saw pre-tax profits fall 28% to €124,252 last year. However,  the Irish Examiner reports gross profits rose from just over €3 million to €3.5 million, in the period between 28 June 2009 to 26 June 2010. Profits in the last two years mark a positive turnaround for the company, which reported losses of €900,000 in 2008. In the accounts, the directors said they were satisfied with the performance during the year.

Also:

Rocketing petrol prices hitting families for €400 more per year (Irish Independent)

Scrap JLC says Retail Ireland (Inside Ireland)

Retail sector showing early signs of recovery (Irish Independent)
– The Cork City Occupancy Survey (CCOS) reveals that the number of vacant shops has dropped by 40% in just 12 months.

Company failure rate set to exceed 2010 figure (Irish Examiner)

33 companies a week went bust in first third of year (Irish Times)
-While the highest number of insolvencies continue to be reported in construction, the retail and service sectors experienced further high levels of business failures

Ed Miliband backs greater voice for locals on spread of supermarkets (Guardian)
-Labour leader Ed Miliband says people should have more say over the ‘Tesco-isation’ of Britain’s high streets

Tesco protesters charged after second night of violence in Bristol (Guardian)

Brighter sales fail to lift high street gloom (Belfast Telegraph)

Latest figures show commercial property market could bottom out (Irish Independent)
– Analysis of the latest SCSI/IPD Ireland Quarterly Property Index

Tesco’s bargain myth has been burst by its own shoppers (Guardian)
– The supermarket giant has ditched its price check offer after it inadvertently turned out to be a great deal for customers

Euro zone producer prices rise (Irish Times)

Business interview: Patrick McCormack, MD of the McCauley Chemist brand (Sunday Business Post)

Judge appoints interim examiner to Xtra-vision (Irish Times)

Thorntons’ profits melt in the sun (Guardian)
– Chocolate shop chain says heatwave hit Easter egg sales, months after blaming poor Christmas figures on the snow

Local authority rating system slammed (Offaly Express)

Retail figures a ’cause for concern‘ — Retail Ireland (Irish Independent)

Buffett gives his dime’s worth on Tesco expansion (Irish Times)

Call for post offices to collect motor tax (Irish Times)

Shops fear bleak summer with sharp rise in prices (Guardian)

Supermarkets kill free markets as well as our communities (Guardian)

Delay on new opera shopping centre is affecting businesses in Limerick (Live95 FM)

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