International News - Ahold set to make £51m investment in Spanish stores

Dutch retailer Ahold plans to invest EUR80 million (£51 million) in its Spanish stores, according to local press reports.

Ahold has experienced problems in Spain following its acquisition of Superdiplo in 2000. The operation now comprises 600 stores and the retailer anticipates sales of EUR2 billion (£1.3 billion) this year.

Two years ago, Ahold said it intended to double Superdiplo's to EUR4 billion (£2.6 billion) over three years. But in May, it warned that integration problems would hit profit by 30 per cent this financial year.

Ahold plans to eventually have 1,000 Spanish stores and a 15 per cent share of the market.

Last month, Ahold reported a third-quarter sales rise of 5.8 per cent to EUR16.4 billion (£10.5 billion), but chief executive officer Cees van der Hoeven issued another profits warning.

Nobody at Ahold was available for comment on the Spanish investment.