Safeway announce £100m investment programme for NI

Safeway has announced plans for a £100 million investment programme in Northern Ireland which could results in hundreds of jobs for the province.

The UK retailer, which currently employs 2,500 people across its 12 Northern Ireland stores, confirmed that new stores in Bangor, Antrim and Hydebank are planned to open in the near future. The existing stores in Ballyclare, Enniskillen and Strabane will also be replaced as part of the expansion plan.

The announcement was made yesterday as over 100 companies who supply Safeway in Northern Ireland and Britain attended the Safeway Northern Ireland Suppliers’ Forum in Belfast yesterday.

Commenting on the investment, and Safeway's performance in Northern Ireland over the past year, Lawrence Christensen, Director of Safeway, said: “We have been extremely pleased with our progress in Northern Ireland over the past five years.

"A 40% growth is exceptionally good and we now have a 12.4% market share – making us Northern Ireland’s second largest food retailer. Our commitment to sourcing locally has been confirmed today as we have seen the amount of product we source from local companies rise to £247 million.

"We aim to build on our current success here through a substantial investment programme of over £100 million. The roll out of our new store programme will help grow our presence here. It is our aim to grow our market share in Northern Ireland.”

During yesterday's forum two Supplier Awards were made to Northern Ireland companies.

C&C was presented with the Safeway Northern Ireland 'Supplier of the Year' award and Limerick Ham received the 'Product of the Year' award.

(MB)