Eneco Refresh taps into the NT with $3.8m buy

Malaga-based Eneco Refresh, formerly Refresh Group, has used its stronger balance sheet to expand into the Northern Territory with the purchase of a bottled water factory in Darwin.

The company bought the factory for approximately $3.8 million plus GST, the seventh bottled water factory it owns.

In addition to the NT operation, Enenco Refresh currently has a factory in Perth and one in Kalgoorlie, as well as two in Queensland, one in NSW, and one in Victoria.

In a statement, the company said ownership of a factory in Darwin would allow it to better service customers in the top end of Australia, which includes Broome, Alice Springs and Cairns.

Last October, Japan-based Eneco Holdings agreed to invest $8.2 million in Refresh, to take its shareholding to 51 per cent.

Reflecting that deal, Refresh Group changed its name last month to Eneco Refresh.

For the 2018 calendar year, Refresh Group made a loss of $274,000, up 4.54 per cent on the prior corresponding period.

The company said the poor result was stemmed from its WA operations, as the sharp growth of Aldi resulted in many IGA supermarkets closing down.

Shares in Enenco Refresh were up 2.86 per cent to trade at 7.2 cents each.