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Dunnes cleared to buy firm behind Kildare Super Valu

Competition authority gives go-ahead for purchase of company behind Clane retailer

Dunnes is buying BA Trading Limited, which owns Condron’s supermarket in Clane. Photograph: Aidan Crawley

Barry J Whyte
Fri Apr 19 2024 - 06:00

Dunnes Stores has been cleared by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to buy a company that currently operates a profitable SuperValu store in Co Kildare.

Dunnes, the supermarket chain run by Margaret Heffernan, is buying BA Trading Limited, which owns Condron’s supermarket in Clane.

BA Trading is owned by Alan and Brenda Condron, who operates the shop as a SuperValu. It is not yet clear when Dunnes Stores intends to take over the running of the premises.

Dunnes Stores is currently the leading supermarket brand in Ireland, according to figures compiled by research firm Kantar. Dunnes has a 24 per cent share of the Irish grocery market, according to the data. SuperValu is in third place, with 20.4 per cent, just behind Tesco with 22.8 per cent.

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However, according to some analyses, SuperValu’s parent company, Musgraves, is the largest in the country by sales, with annual revenue of €4.7 billion. That revenue comes from SuperValu and a number of other brands Musgraves controls, such as Centra, Daybreak and Donnybrook Fair.

Dunnes Stores does not publish annual reports, though some estimates put its annual revenue at about €4.1 billion. Tesco recently recorded annual revenues of €3.3 billion in Ireland, by comparison.

The Kildare company that Dunnes Stores is buying, BA Trading, had turnover of €14.9 million in 2022, which was down from €15.5 million it took in the year before, according to the most recently published company accounts.

The business made a pretax profit for the year of €3.4 million, an increase on the previous year’s profit of €930,391. It had 77 staff at the end of 2022 and a wage bill of €2 million.

The acquisition had been examined by the competition authority, which recently cleared it, concluding that “the proposed transaction will not substantially lessen competition in any market for goods or services in the State”.

Efforts were made to contact Condrons and Dunnes Stores.

Musgrave, the owner of Super Valu, “is aware of the decision by the store owner Alan Condron to sell his business”, a company spokesman said. “We will continue to assess opportunities, as always, within and outside the area as part of our ongoing strategy to bring SuperValu stores to local communities. Musgrave is committed to continuing to support, grow and champion independent retailers, contributing to the sustainability and prosperity of local communities.”

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