DERRY-based Nicholl Fuel Oils has bought over the Northern Ireland home-heating business of Topaz Energy in a multi-million pound deal.
The sale is part of a wider move by Topaz which sees the offloading of its home-heating oil interests on both sides of the border.
Capital Oil Supplies, which provides home-heating oil in Dublin and Kildare, acquired the business in the south.
Although the exact financial details of the deals were not disclosed, it is estimated that their value is in the tens of millions.
Topaz, which was acquired by Canadian group Alimentation Couche-Tard in 2015, has around 250,000 home-heating oil customers.
The deal will see several depots and warehouses across Ireland operated by Topaz change hands to the new owners.
Both deals seem to indicate the Dublin-based fuel retailer is moving away from home-heating oil and focusing more on its petrol station chain.
Topaz still operates a network of nearly 450 filling stations across Ireland and in October it announced a €33 million (£28m) investment in its retail network for this year, with the aim to create up to 200 jobs in the process.
Last month it opened two new motorway service areas and filling stations in Carlow and Fermoy.
When contacted by The Irish News, Topaz confirmed the sale.
"Topaz’s home heating business in Northern Ireland employed a total of 35 staff," they added.
These roles will not be affected and all positions have transferred to the new ownership.
Nicholl Fuel Oils, based in Greysteel outside Derry, is one of the largest private companies in the north and has 15 branches across the region.
According to its latest accounts for the year to the end of May 2016, it made £1m in pre-tax profits with sales of just over £210m, while retaining profits of nearly £75m.
Although its turnover has gradually fallen in recent years (it was more than £300m five years ago), Nicholl’s has consistently managed to make a steady profit.
Being a fuel business, Nicholl’s success has largely been dependent on the base-price of oil, which has been on the rise in recent months.
This aspect of the business was recognised in the director’s strategic report filed with their latest accounts.
"The fuel market continues to be extremely price competitive due to the movement in base oil prices which leads to varying working capital requirements and increased risk to exposure with trade customers," they said.
Nicholl's also owns several subsidaries, including Oil NRG, Brobot Fuels and McAteer Fuels.
In 2015, the company also bought E Cunnah & Son, a fuel supplier in north Wales, for £1.5m.
The fuel business in Northern Ireland has been heating up since the beginning of the year.
Earlier this month, Go petrol station owner’s the LCC Group bought a terminal on Belfast Lough from AES Power in a multi-million pound deal.
LCC said it plans to spend up to £15m on improving the facility so that 120,000-tonne tankers will be able to dock at it, making it the largest commercial terminal in Ireland and opening up the possibility of new trade routes for oil to the north.
