ARCHIVED - Eroski pulls out of the Region of Murcia with the sale of the Lorca hypermarket

1,700 homes are to be built on the land next to the old Eroski in Cartagena

The supermarket chain Eroski, which closed down its hypermarket in the eastern outskirts of Cartagena during the summer, has now ended its presence in the Region of Murcia with the sale of the large store in the city of Lorca to the Family Cash group.

Based in the Basque Country, Eroski also sold an outlet in Molina de Segura early this year and has therefore disappeared entirely from the Costa Cálida in the space of just 9 months following a deal with Family Cash which also includes the transfer of 7 other hypermarkets in various parts of Spain and a petrol station in Zaragoza. However, at least on this occasion the staff at the Eroski in the San Diego centre in Lorca have been guaranteed their continued employment by the new owners during a transition period which will last until late 2021, and during which the trading name “Eroski” will still be used.

Meanwhile, on a large plot of land adjoining the former Eroski supermarket in Cartagena a residential development including 1,700 homes has at long last been given the green light by the Town Hall after being placed on hold around 15 years ago, by means of an agreement with the promoter Tomás Olivo. Preliminary work is now under way on a project which was first approved in 1989 on an area of over 300,000 square metres, and included in the plans is improved access into the west of the city of Cartagena across the plot of land which lies between the old Eroski and the Carthago Nova football stadium.