- Fitzwilton
Infobox Company
company_name = Fitzwilton
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company_type = Private
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founder = Sir Anthony O'Reilly andPeter Goulandris
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footnotes =Fitzwilton is a privately held investment company, today owned by Sir Anthony O'Reilly and
Peter Goulandris throughStoneworth Investment Ltd. It has been loss-making for much of its history.Recent history
Northern Ireland deal
In June 1997 Fitzwilton signed a joint venture deal with
Safeway plc which saw 15 of its Northern IrishWellworths stores converted to Safeway outlets. The remaining Wellworths stores were sold to theMusgrave Group . [cite news| first = Helen| last = Slingsby| title = Safeway snaps up Irish supermarkets| work = Evening Standard|publisher = Associated Newspapers| page = 33| date = 1997-06-19| accessdate = 2007-03-22] Safeway's move into Northern Ireland followed that of J Sainsbury andTesco ; Sainsbury's announced its expansion into the province in 1995 and opened its first store in December 1996, while Tesco opened its first store in October 1996 and purchasedAssociated British Foods 'Stewarts /Crazy Prices group in 1997. Fitzwilton objected to Sainsbury's planning applications on the grounds that authorities had "moved mountains" to allow the company's developments to proceed. [cite news| title = Sainsbury's rejects "preference" claims| work = Irish Times| publisher = The Irish Times| page = 14| date = 1995-06-26| accessdate = 2007-03-22] Fitzwilton was successful in delaying Sainsbury's Coleraine store, but failed ultimately to prevent the development.Taken private
Fitzwilton plc was de-listed from the stock exchange in 1998 when O'Reilly and Goulandris completed their takeover. [cite news| first = Brendan| last = McGrath| title = Shares fall but sharp drop is averted| work = The Irish Times| page = 19| date = 1998-09-22| accessdate = 2007-03-22]
In July 2002 Safeway purchased Fitzwilton's 50% share of
Safeway Stores (Ireland) for £45 million. [cite news|first = Robin| last = Morton| title = Safeway takes full control| work = Belfast Telegraph| publisher = Belfast Telegraph Newspapers| date = 2002-07-09| accessdate = 2007-03-22]Today
Fitzwilton's main residual business is
Rennicks , a supplier of "road traffic management products", mostly metallic roadsigns but also, for example, Portable Changeable Message Signs (PCMS) for which it holds exclusive marketing rights for Ireland and the UK. [cite news| first = Laura| last = Slattery| title = Fitzwilton sees losses narrow to €3.8m| work = The Irish Times| publisher =
page = 18| date = 2006-10-28| accessdate = 2007-03-22]References
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