UK: Heron Foods plans more closures
Pre-tax profits at the frozen food discounter rose 15% to £8.1m and Heron Foods’ sales rose 11.3% to £164.9m in the year to December 31 2011, according to accounts filed at Companies House. EBITDA rose 10.3% to £14.63m in the year.
Last year the company closed stores that were unprofitable and plan to continue doing so.
The directors reported: "The company continues to expand its current operations into new sites and is actively managing its property portfolio to drive footfall and turnover forward still further and to release cash for the repayment of debt.
"The company has also closed a number of unprofitable stores throughout the year and will continue to do so whenever possible."
However, there are plans to replace some of the closed stores with ne ones, in more favourable locations.
"The company intends to relocate its existing stores to more favourable locations where possible and intends to continue opening new stores whenever these become available."
Heron Foods acquired 54 of Cooltrader’s 58 stores from Iceland earlier this month. The Hull-based group, run by managing director Michael Heuck, has delivered strong growth throughout the recession and had taken its store count to 170 before acquiring the Cooltrader shops.
Source: www.retail-week.com
