The chief executive of the Musgrave Group Chris Martin has announced his retirement today.
Mr Martin, who has been CEO since 2005, led the group through the acquisition of brands like Superquinn, La Rousse Foods and Donnybrook Fair and the establishment of new brands such as Frank and Honest.
"Musgrave has been an important part of my life and I have had the privilege of working with exceptional colleagues, world class retailers and supportive shareholders," he said.
"Through our purpose of ‘Growing Good Business’ we have worked together to build brands that are set up for long term sustainable growth and we have created a business that people can be proud of and which contributes significantly to local communities. I am now working with the Board to provide a seamless transition.”
The news comes as the group revealed a 5.6% increase in profits for 2018 when compared to the previous year.
In their results for the 2018 financial year, turnover was up 3.8% to €3.9bn and profit before tax was €84.5m.
Net assets were €410m, an increase of €79m on 2017 and the business ended the year with net cash of €16m.
Mr Martin said 2018 was another successful year for Musgrave.
"Despite very competitive markets, for the fourth year in a row we have reported increased profit, with all our brands performing well and growing," he said.
Our performance underlines the success of our Growing Good Business strategy, which is on track to deliver long-term growth. Through this strategy, we are successfully evolving our business to provide people with unique food experiences when, where and how they want them.
This is being delivered through investment in digital, a focus on innovation and with our retail partners who are responsive to the local needs of shoppers. We are pleased that our recent acquisitions, La Rousse Foods and Donnybrook Fair, which we acquired in 2018, are performing well and we continue to explore further acquisition opportunities," he said.