The Duffy Group, which runs convenience shops in the Dublin region, has taken a shareholder oppression case against symbol group ADM Londis.

The proceedings were taken under Section 205 under the Companies Office "in relation to a shareholder issue between the two parties", a spokesman for ADM Londis confirmed.

The dispute is related to the decision by the Duffy Group to leave ADM Londis last year. Both sides are now disputing the shareholding status of the Duffy Group and its value.

Londis has a network of 370 shops in Ireland and is an unlisted public limited company, meaning its retailers can own the company through shareholdings and sell their shares at market price. Before October 2004, Londis had been a co-operative.

Last year the PLC bought back 100 of its own B class ordinary shares for €127, according to a document filed with the Companies Office. Those shares were then cancelled, the filings show.

ADM Londis made a pre-tax profit of more than €6m on turnover of more than €371m in 2007, up from profits of €5.1m on turnover of €355m the previous year. Shareholders' funds stood at more than €26.6m at the end of 2007 and the company owned investment property worth nearly €7.3m.

The Duffy Group, Prime News and Duffy Group Old Bawn, related companies whose ultimate parent company is called Batacan, have take the case against ADM Londis. Batacan's last set of filed accounts show it had shareholders' funds of €3.5m on 1 January 2007.

The symbol groups in the convenience sector have begun launching extremely competitive special offers as they seek to compete with the larger shopping centres. Londis and Spar in particular have been heavily promoting credit crunch and value offers in the Dublin area in particular.