Ion dismisses SWS sale rumours

ION Equity, owners of Topaz petrol stations, has dismissed rumours of an impending sale of its SWS subsidiary.

Ion bought SWS in the last days of 2006 for €110 million. SWS was owned by five co-ops — Bandon, Barryroe, Drinagh, Lisavaird and Dairygold’s REOX offshoot, as well as group management.

Ion would not rule out a sale if it got an offer too good to ignore and has had approaches for the Bandon-based group, which specialises in wind farms and back office administration, where its client list includes the Department of Transport and Bank of Ireland.