Topaz
Ion Equity led the acquisition of Shell Ireland in November 2005 and of Statoil Ireland in October 2006, creating the leading forecourt and convenience retailing business in Ireland. Ion Equity sold its interest in Topaz to Denis O’Brien in 2014. The business has since been sold to Couche-Tard and rebranded “Circle K”.
Ion led the development of the business and integration plans for Shell and Statoil. The integration delivered significant synergies and resulted in the disposal of non-core assets. Following this, the group’s property was hived off into a separate vehicle, managed by Ion, allowing the merged entity focus on its operating business.
In 2008, in the largest rebranding project ever carried out in Ireland, the business was rebranded to Topaz. The rebranding exceeded expectations across all metrics and delivered tangible market share growth across the network.
Topaz recently agreed a deal to take over the fuel supply services of Shell Aviation at Irish airports.
Topaz is now the largest fuel and convenience retailer in the country, and is committed to investing in and growing its network. It has spent over €50m on its investment and expansion programme to date, creating over 400 new jobs in the process.
Topaz currently supplies 3.2 billion litres of fuel, across the island of Ireland through its network of 109 company sites, 200 dealer sites, 40 inland depots and five sea fed storage facilities. It employs over 1,600 employees.
Topaz’s excellent operational capability has been reflected in the number of industry awards that Topaz has won since 2008, including:
- Great Place to Work Institute Awards (Top 10 Placement 2010)
- Irish Retail Excellence Award (Winner Forecourt Retailer of the Year and Manager of the Year at the Shelf Life National Convenience Store Awards 2010)
- Irelands Forecourt & Convenience Retailer Awards (Winner Oil Company Initiative of the Year 2008 & 2009)
Social and environmental responsibility is one of the Topaz key business pillars and reflects its commitment to both the environment and the society in which we live and operate. To this end, it has partnerships with UNICEF and Temple Street Childrens’ University Hospital, Dublin. As the largest coffee retailer in the country, Topaz sources only Fairtrade coffee. Topaz is also keenly aware of the impact of its business on the environment and strives to integrate environmentally friendly practices, such as eco-friendly car wash detergents in all sites and the use of recycled water in a number of these.
» www.topazenergy.ie