Safeway, the British food giant, has reported a 16 per cent increase in sales in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.
The group, which has a 13 per cent share of the North's supermarket sales, announced a 31 per cent hike in UK profits to £320 million sterling (#518 million) for the 12 months to March 2001.
Safeway first entered Northern Ireland in 1997 and now employs approximately 2,200 people in its 12 stores.
Mr Peter Darroch, area manager, said the group currently sourced £235 million sterling of goods from Northern Ireland companies.
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"The amount sourced by Safeway for our 12 Northern Ireland stores has increased by 34 per cent to £35 million for the year," he added.
