Major food distributor in multimillion-euro talks over Convenience Shop stake

Alf. Mizzi & Sons is negotiating a multimillion-euro transaction involving a significant stake in The Convenience Shop chain, The Shift can reveal.

The talks concern a substantial shareholding in The Convenience Shop (Holding) plc, the listed company behind the My Convenience and My Supermarket brands. The price and size of the stake under discussion have not been publicly disclosed.

The development follows an extraordinary general meeting, when shareholders approved allowing prospective purchasers and their advisers access to confidential company information.

That approval clears the way for buyers to examine the business before deciding whether to proceed. It does not constitute approval of a sale.

The company’s September announcement described discussions as preliminary and said no binding agreement had been signed. Its October update confirmed the shareholder vote but announced no completed transaction.

Alf. Mizzi & Sons is a Maltese family-owned group with extensive interests in food distribution, retail, property and hospitality. Its marketing business supplies supermarkets, grocery shops and catering establishments.

The Convenience Shop’s major shareholders include IC Holdings, JMP Holdings and MPH Malta, associated respectively with Ivan Calleja, Joseph Pace and Manuel Piscopo.

Earlier ownership disclosures identify Kevin Deguara, Jean Carl Farrugia and Kenneth Deguara behind Gaia Investments, another major shareholder. A fifth of the company is held by the public through shares listed on the Malta Stock Exchange. The company has not publicly identified which shareholders are negotiating to sell.

The talks come against a mixed financial picture.

Group sales rose 11.7% to €27.6 million in the first six months of 2026 and operating profit increased from €562,000 to €737,000.

However, financing costs climbed from €518,000 to €688,000, absorbing approximately 93% of operating profit. Only €49,000 remained before other income and tax.

Another €399,000 classified as “other income” lifted pre-tax profit to €448,000.

Profit after tax rose modestly to €327,000.

A purchase of existing shares would pay the selling shareholders rather than automatically inject cash into the retailer. No capital injection or debt refinancing has been publicly announced.