The development of hypermarkets and continued rationalisation in retail food distribution systems would benefit companies involved in the commercial cold storage sector, the chairman of Norish, Mr Brian Joyce, said yesterday. Commenting after the company's a.g.m., Mr Joyce said that Norish, which has four centres in Britain and a 30 per cent stake in one in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, was seeking extra capacity on top of its existing 50,000 pallet spaces. "We are looking and we are doing the very best we can."

Norish declared a pre-tax profit of £2.87 million for 1997, up from £1.65 million in 1996.

He said that an increased presence in Ireland was unlikely because of the volatility of the market. However, an extension of the British base was likely, while the warehousing and transport sectors would be complementary businesses.

Mr Joyce said he did not know if Norish was being viewed as a possible acquisition target by larger storage companies such as Frigoscandia, Hays and Salvesen.