The Virgin Entertainment Group, which employs 200 people in the Republic, has acquired the Virgin Our Price business, bringing its retail and cinema brands together. Virgin purchased Our Price from the British WH Smith group, with which it had a joint venture arrangement, for £145 million sterling.

Announcing the acquisition yesterday, Virgin founder, Mr Richard Branson, said the reorganisation should bring benefits in the British and Irish markets very quickly.

"The success of Virgin Cinemas in the UK and Ireland and the management of our overseas megastores can now be comprehensively developed in co-operation."

Virgin Our Price will now be restructured into two constituent businesses, Virgin retail and Our Price with the creation of two separate boards and management teams. Commenting on its Irish operations, Virgin Entertainment Group chief executive, Mr Simon Burke, said that the reorganisation would streamline its cinema and retail operations, with - for instance - customers able to book cinema tickets at its retail outlets in the future.

Virgin Retail has seven stores in Ireland and is due to open a large outlet at the Liffey Valley shopping centre next year. Mr Burke said it was also seeking to open up to three additional shops.

The entertainments group is seeking new sites for cinemas. It currently operated a multiplex cinema in Dublin city and was actively looking at potential sites in the south Dublin region and in Cork, he added.

After the spilt, Virgin Retail will have 88 stores, accounting for some 60 per cent of Virgin Our Price's turnover, while Our Price will have 229 stores, including three in Northern Ireland. The split is not expected to generate a significant increase in overhead costs.

"With this new arrangement, we will have two management teams each focused on the development of their business and brand. I expect this to be a major benefit to those businesses and customers" he said.