Tesco advances its Virginia store plan
Tesco Ireland moved a step closer with its plans to establish a new store in Virginia when it brought an application for a beer and wine retailer's licence before Cavan District Court.
The supermarket giant is in the process of taking over McEvoy's Eurospar in Virginia, and once complete, it will mean that Tesco will have a presence in the county’s three largest towns, after Cavan and Bailieborough.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) recently gave the green light to Tesco to acquire McEvoy’s supermarket in Virginia, with the deal now progressing.
The application listed before Cavan District Court was for an ad interim transfer of a beer and wine retailer's licence attached to McEvoy's Eurospar Limited at Ballyjamesduff Road, Virginia. The licence is currently in the name of McEvoy's Eurospar Limited.
However, the application was made for the matter to be adjourned for a period of three weeks with Judge Raymond Finnegan informed that the file was “not ready” to proceed at this time.
A spokesperson for Tesco Ireland confirmed to the Celt that it had received approval from the CCPC to acquire McEvoy’s supermarket in Virginia. “We are now in the process of formally completing the deal, after which the store will be redesigned and rebranded as a Tesco and will offer customers in Virginia an extensive range of quality branded and Tesco products, exceptional value, and the many benefits of Tesco Clubcard. We look forward to welcoming colleagues from McEvoys to Tesco where we will support them to continue and grow their careers, and to getting to know local shoppers in Virginia.”
Along with its store in Bailieborough, opened 2008, Tesco Ireland, which has an address at Gresham House, Dun Laoghaire, also has plans to build a new super store type development to replace its existing premises at the centre of Cavan Town.
The final grant of planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for that project is now the subject of a judicial review, initiated by a local campaign group titled 'Friends of Killymooney Lough'.
The next hearing in respect of that matter is scheduled for June 2025.
A spokesperson for Tesco Ireland previously told the Celt: “We remain hopeful for a positive outcome from the judicial review and committed to bringing an improved shopping experience to our customers in Cavan Town.”