More than 130 retailers in the Irish Republic are being offered the chance to buy or lease the stores they operate under the Spar franchise, owned by the BWG Group. A group subsidiary, Newhill Limited, owns the 150 outlets involved, mainly in the Dublin area.
BWG chief executive Leo Crawford said pressure from franchise holders led to the offer. Most of the group’s 540 stores in the Republic are already owned by individual retailers. “We don’t see it as a business imperative to keep ownership of retail properties,” he said.
However, “at the moment” the stores would not be offered to outside buyers as it was intended to facilitate franchise holders. Negotiations with individual retailers are to open shortly.
The sale is expected to realise around €200m, which Crawford said would be invested in new stores. BWG was planning 70 new Spar stores in the next two years. It has also been focusing on its larger Eurospar outlets, with plans to open 15 in the next 18 months.
BWG chief executive Leo Crawford said pressure from franchise holders led to the offer. Most of the group’s 540 stores in the Republic are already owned by individual retailers. “We don’t see it as a business imperative to keep ownership of retail properties,” he said.
However, “at the moment” the stores would not be offered to outside buyers as it was intended to facilitate franchise holders. Negotiations with individual retailers are to open shortly.
The sale is expected to realise around €200m, which Crawford said would be invested in new stores. BWG was planning 70 new Spar stores in the next two years. It has also been focusing on its larger Eurospar outlets, with plans to open 15 in the next 18 months.
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