British supermarket chain Tesco has abandoned two expensive property developments in Ireland.

It spent €5m securing land for new stores in Ballybofey and Letterkenny in county Donegal.

Tesco had secured planning permission for a 4,300 sq metre outlet Ballybofey - but that decision was later overturned by An Bord Pleanala.

The company has a store in Letterkenny and wanted to open a petrol retail outlet - but faced local opposition.

Tesco confirmed to The Irish Independent that these plans will no longer be pursued.

"I can confirm the two sites have been sold and as such no longer form part of our development portfolio," a spokesperson said.

The latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel showed that SuperValu had the strongest growth among major retailers.

Its sales grew ahead of the market, strengthening its position as Ireland's number one retailer with a 22.5% market share.

Tesco follows hot on its heels with 21.9% of the grocery market, though its share has fallen compared with the same period in 2015.