Nisa-Today’s hits £1.5bn turnover landmark

Neil Turton, chief executive, told the company’s Your Consortium magazine it was on course to grow from the £1.42bn sales for the year to March 2010.

He wrote: “Nisa-Today’s has just finished its trading year and, whilst our final results have yet to be audited, it looks like we have exceeded £1.5bn turnover for the first time and grown at seven per cent, with an extra five million cases going through the Central Distribution systems.”

Mr Turton said the firm had added £500m to sales over the last six years despite a “very tough trading background”. The coming year would be “tougher”, he added, but said Nisa expects to grow four per cent in cash terms and two per cent in volume.

The chain, Britain’s biggest buying group for independent retailers, is considering splitting wholesale group Today’s from Nisa retail. Mr Turton said the outcome would be for members to decide and wholesalers will have consultative meetings “in the next few weeks” and the group would continue to be open about the process. Mr Turton said the changeover of its Scunthorpe distribution site to DHL management took place last month, meaning the group could begin to transform its supply chain.

In 2009 Bibby Line tried to buy Nisa-Today’s, resulting in a bid worth £51m that was rejected by management as being a “very significant undervaluation” of the business.