Burke steps down as chairman of Superquinn

SIMON BURKE has stepped down as chairman of Superquinn with immediate effect. He will be replaced as chairman by Kieran Ryan, a shareholder in Select Retail Holdings, the company behind the supermarket chain.

Mr Burke remains a shareholder in the company, a spokeswoman for Superquinn said yesterday.

The confirmation that Mr Burke has resigned as chairman of Superquinn comes almost three months after he moved into the position of non-executive chairman following the appointment of former Dunnes Stores director Andrew Street as chief executive of Superquinn. Mr Street spent 12 years as chief operating officer at Dunnes Stores.

Mr Burke had headed up Superquinn since its purchase by Select Retail Holdings in 2005 and has been closely associated with the Superquinn brand since then.

He is one of a number of investors who bought the multiple from Feargal Quinn more than five years ago for a reported €450 million. Other investors include Jerry O’Reilly, property consultants David Courtney and Bernard Doyle, hotelier Terry Sweeney and Kieran Ryan, while Bernard McNamara is a former shareholder.

Mr Burke’s departure as chairman is the latest in a series of personnel changes at Superquinn.

Sheena Forde left to join Dunnes as head of buying last summer, while Superquinn’s former trading director James Wilson, also left last year.

Margaret Taylor, who joined Superquinn from UGC Cinemas as managing director in 2009 and was a former colleague of Simon Burke at Virgin, also departed Superquinn last year.

Mr Burke has held a number of executive and non-executive roles in Britain and Ireland. A trained accountant and expert in corporate finance, he is a former senior executive at Virgin and Hamleys. He was appointed chairman of Mitchells Butler, the London-listed restaurant and pub chain, earlier this month.

Mr Burke, who is a trustee of the National Gallery in London, was also appointed as non-executive director of the BBC executive board in January this year.

Superquinn employs more than 3,000 people in 24 stores across Ireland. It recently opened stores in Rathgar in south Dublin and at Heuston Station.

Founded in 1960 by Fergal Quinn, it was bought by the consortium Select Retail Holdings in 2005.