Superquinn Sold to Investment Consortium for $590 Million
DUBLIN, Ireland – Competition has prompted yet another stories supermarket family to
move on.
Investment consortium Select Retail Holdings has purchased Superquinn, the Republic of
Ireland's No. 3 food retailer, from sole owners Feargal Quinn and his family, according to
published accounts.
Founded in 1960 by Quinn with one store, Superquinn is now a 20-location chain with
4,200 employees. The Quinn family will reportedly keep a 5 percent stake in the
company, which additionally owns nine shopping centers, primarily in and around
Dublin.
A group of eight private investors, headed by Dubliner Simon Burke, ex-chairman of the
London-based toy megastore Hamleys and incoming chairman of Majestic Wines, made
the all-cash offer in the wake of Quinn’s complaints that he was facing mounting
competition from England’s Tesco and Dublin-based Dunnes Stores, both of which have
repeatedly outbid Superquinn for property sites.
Other members of the consortium include builder Bernard McNamara, property
consultants David Courtney and Bernard Doyle, corporate finance expert David Cantrell,
and property developer Gerry O'Reilly.
Burke will become Superquinn's executive chairman, and Quinn will become president.
Eamonn and Stephen, two of Quinn’s five children, will also remain on the board. The
stores will retain the Superquinn name.
According to Burke, the consortium has plans to build about 10 new Superquinn outlets,
among them a superstore on Dublin's major ring road and several small convenience
stores. Burke added that the new owners wished to build on Superquinn's reputation for
fresh food and excellent customer service, rather than try to battle its rivals in a price war.
Burke told the British newspaper the Telegraph that no job losses would result from the
takeover, "but you can't give guarantees forever."
move on.
Investment consortium Select Retail Holdings has purchased Superquinn, the Republic of
Ireland's No. 3 food retailer, from sole owners Feargal Quinn and his family, according to
published accounts.
Founded in 1960 by Quinn with one store, Superquinn is now a 20-location chain with
4,200 employees. The Quinn family will reportedly keep a 5 percent stake in the
company, which additionally owns nine shopping centers, primarily in and around
Dublin.
A group of eight private investors, headed by Dubliner Simon Burke, ex-chairman of the
London-based toy megastore Hamleys and incoming chairman of Majestic Wines, made
the all-cash offer in the wake of Quinn’s complaints that he was facing mounting
competition from England’s Tesco and Dublin-based Dunnes Stores, both of which have
repeatedly outbid Superquinn for property sites.
Other members of the consortium include builder Bernard McNamara, property
consultants David Courtney and Bernard Doyle, corporate finance expert David Cantrell,
and property developer Gerry O'Reilly.
Burke will become Superquinn's executive chairman, and Quinn will become president.
Eamonn and Stephen, two of Quinn’s five children, will also remain on the board. The
stores will retain the Superquinn name.
According to Burke, the consortium has plans to build about 10 new Superquinn outlets,
among them a superstore on Dublin's major ring road and several small convenience
stores. Burke added that the new owners wished to build on Superquinn's reputation for
fresh food and excellent customer service, rather than try to battle its rivals in a price war.
Burke told the British newspaper the Telegraph that no job losses would result from the
takeover, "but you can't give guarantees forever."