Cash and carry buys stake as Mulcahy steps down
Instore shareholder Tradegro has sold a 29.78 per cent stake in the retailer to Seaham Investments, a company owned by Abdul Aziz Tayub. Tayub controls Crown Crest in Leicester, a cash and carry that specialises in food.

Semour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner said: 'All very interesting and confusing. We must admit that we had never heard of Tayub, but no doubt this situation will change. The stake changed hands at 14.642p a share, well below market price. The South Africans [Tradegro] are retaining a 34.81 per cent holding and no doubt hope that, after the failures of the past two decades, this will bail them out. Who knows? We've been there several times before.'

Instore, which trades as Instore and Poundstretcher, also revealed that Sir Geoff Mulcahy, a non-executive director for more than two years, has quit the board with immediate effect.

Earlier this week, Instore revealed it made a full-year pre-tax loss of£9.1 million, before exceptionals of£3.2 million, after a year of fundamental change. This is compared with a profit of£3.3 million last year. However, it said turnover rose 4.3 per cent to£280.1 million in the 52 weeks to February 24.

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