Condis has put its supermarket network in Madrid and the downtown area up for sale with the aim of focusing its resources on growing in Catalonia, the region in which it was founded six decades ago and where it has a market share of close to 8%. . As confirmed by different financial sources to elEconomista, the supermarket chain has hired BBVA to orchestrate a competitive process and has already received the first offers, both from other industrial operators and from venture capital funds that want to grow in this niche of market.
This process occurs in parallel to the search for a minority investor for the supermarket chain, which is in advanced negotiations with the Spanish manager Portobello Capital. The approach of this operation involves finding a partner who will accompany them in full generational change and provide them with sufficient financial lung to continue growing.
In this sense, last February, Josep Condal Torrens, nephew of the previous president of Condis, Xavier Condall Escudé, who retired, took over the presidency of this distribution company. Until then, the new leader of the chain had served as vice president together with his two cousins, Pilar Condal Bargós and Carme Condal Guirado.
It should be remembered that the three assumed this responsibility in 2015 after the reorganization of the chain when Enric Ezquerra, a well-known businessman in the sector who is currently president of Sánchez Romero, was fired. In fact, this supermarket chain has recently been involved in another major corporate operation: the purchase by El Corte Inglés of Sánchez Romero.
Good moment of the sector
These movements in the sector take place a few months after Carrefour bought Supersol and Eroski sold 50% of Caprabo to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky –second fortune in the Czech Republic–, which shows the great investor appetite for this industry.
The coronavirus pandemic has served as a boost for the business of supermarket chains, which have established themselves as a safe haven value and have seen their sales rise during these months. Thus, there are numerous investors who want to enter this business, while supermarket chains redesign their strategy and take advantage of it to grow in other regions or to make cash.
Condis was founded in 1961 by the Condal family and has become the second supermarket chain in Catalonia behind Bon Preu. In the last year it registered sales of 890 million euros, 17% more than in 2019. It currently has a network of some 680 establishments, most of which are in Catalonia.
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