Grocery group Musgrave has named Mr Chris Martin to succeed Mr Seamus Scally as group managing director.

Mr Martin, who joined the Cork-based food distributor and cash-and-carry as chief financial officer about 18 months ago, will take over next April when Mr Scally retires.

Mr Scally, who has been with the group for more than 30 years, will stay on the board in an non-executive capacity.

Musgrave chairman, Mr Hugh McKeown, one of three family members with a stake in the group, paid tribute to Mr Scally who has overseen Musgrave's rise to become one of the most significant players in the industry.

"It is difficult to overestimate Seamus Scally's contribution to the growth of Musgrave," he said. "Under his watch, Musgrave has continued to grow rapidly, both organically and through acquisitions."

Mr Scally is seen as the driving force in growing the group's Centra and SuperValu franchise chains since he took the helm nearly eight years ago. Musgrave now claims 24 per cent of the market in the Republic and 10 per cent in the North.

Mr Martin was formerly chief executive of Mothercare but stepped down in 2002 following three profit warnings. He subsequently worked as chief financial officer at Pizza Hut and in a finance capacity as Asda.

"Since joining Musgrave, he has been responsible for all the group's financial operations and was also a key member of the team which brought the recent acquisition of Londis UK to a successful conclusion," the company said in a statement.

Musgrave last year recorded a 20.4 per cent increase in sales to a record €3.3 billion with pre-tax profit rising to €59.3 million.