FIFTY Londis shopkeepers in the region will share a £1.5m windfall if Musgrave succeeds in its attempts to buy the group.

The Budgens owner has tabled a second bid for the network of independent stores which has been recommended by the Londis board.

The £60m offer will be the subject of a shareholder vote in the next few months. If more than 75 per cent of the nearly 2,000 Londis shop owners vote in favour, the buyout will be worth £30,000 each.

Musgrave made an unsuccessful bid of £40m last year, but that was rejected after it emerged four executive directors on the Londis board would receive half the money.

Since then, the four executives have agreed to a one-off payment of £2m.

The individuals likely to benefit from a successful Musgrave deal will enjoy a remarkable return on their original investment in Londis, where share originally cost £50.

The new deal means the share of the sale proceeds will rise from £10,139 previously, to £31,266.

Londis said the offer from Musgrave had not been the highest made, but future trading arrangements with Musgrave would provide the best option for shopkeepers in the running of their businesses.

The bid process, which was managed by KPMG Corporate Finance, attracted interest from across the retail sector, with approaches thought to have come from the Co-op, Iceland owner Big Food Group and off-licence chain Thresher.

The proposal, which will see shopkeepers receive two instalments of £15,633, will be voted on by shareholders. Regional roadshows will also take place to explain the deal to retailers.

Musgrave is privately-owned and has food distribution operations in Ireland, Spain and the UK. In the year to December 31, the business had a turnover of about £2.3bn and profits of £41.1m.

Eoin McGettigan, executive chairman of Musgrave UK, said the company would provide total support to retailers in allowing them to expand their stores.