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BIG INTERVIEW


Continued from Page 21


Zuber says: “When you build a business from scratch, it is very hard to let go – especially when you have established it from nothing.


“It was a hard decision but the shareholders wanted an exit. We said that as much as you want that, we want to stay, so let’s find a mutual solution and this is when the idea of EG On The Move started to take form.


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“Some of the leadership team decided to join me and were equally enthused to go on a growth journey again. So, we took 30 North West sites from the group. We know the area, it is where we live, and we know the people working in them.”


Zuber is quick to admit he didn’t fully understand what private equity was all about when TDR made its entrance and,


the founders won’t have any control over that, because that is what you are signing up to.


“I’ve spoken to a few people who have asked my advice and have had an offer from PE. I say that they need to be sure what they really want in the next five years. Do they still want to have their business or do they want to retire?


“As a business person, when you are at this kind of juncture, you need to really think and understand the long-term implications of PE, which we unfortunately never did.


“You need to ask yourself: Do you keep what you have and build on that under your own control, or do you explode into the world with the firepower and experience of private equity behind you?


“I think if we had known that if you ‘explode’, in five years’ time you won’t be able to keep


The job gets easier. The first time we were


guessing a lot and learning. This time we know what we need to do and how to do it


in hindsight, may have gone for growth using a different route.


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At the time of the deal, which saw TDR take 50 per cent of the business in 2015, EG was looking to expand internationally and was finding it difficult to break through.


TDR already had forecourt operations in Europe, offering that first gateway to global expansion. Its arrival primed large-scale growth with more than 6,000 site operations across ten international markets in Europe, North America and Australia.


However, Zuber says: “If someone had come to me and said, ‘Do you really understand what you are doing here?’ I think the answer would have been ‘no, not really’.


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“My advice to anyone going into partnership with PE is to ask themselves if they really know what they are getting themselves into. There will come a day when the PE house will want to exit and sell the entrepreneur’s ‘baby’. And


control of something you have created, I would have opted to stay in the lane with 100 per cent control and built on it over the years.


“That’s a lesson learned. And, also, if it is a family business, it can’t remain that when you have sold 50 per cent or a majority to private equity.”


Today Zuber is enjoying life in his new fast lane. He says: “You have to enjoy what you do. We have built a good business and we have a lot of good people around us.


“The job gets easier as well. The first time we were guessing a lot and learning as we were going along. This time we know what we need to do and how to do it as well. We are in a much better place and a stronger position, I would say.


“It’s a business that we understand. It is so easy to be tempted to try and go elsewhere and do other things. However, I firmly believe you should stick to what you know.


“When you look at November 2024, when we separated from the EG Group, and where we are today, we are a business with over £1bn turnover already. We are £65m-£70m EBITDA.”


He reveals that to date he has used his own cash to fuel growth, investing nearly half-a- billion pounds back into the business in a strong statement of intent.


For decades the headlines were all about ‘the Blackburn billionaire brothers’ and their joint enterprises, including, for a time, ownership of the Asda supermarket group with TDR. So how does it feel now he’s steering this new ship solo?


He says: “If you ask me honestly, when we started the business, did we ever think we would get to where we did with it, the answer would be ‘never’.


“As siblings, we’ve done a lot of things together and, as you evolve and get older, I think you just reflect and we’ve both asked ourselves what is our end game now? Where do we want to be in five years?


“It was amicable for my brother Mohsin and me. Each of us has gone our different ways. Mohsin is doing different things and I’m doing different things. We meet, we talk, everything is okay.


“When you are growing a business to the scale that we did with EG Group and you’ve got someone who knows how you think and how you react, that is really helpful. There are only 11 months between us as brothers, so you can see there is that bond.


“We’ve done a lot of good things together and created a lot, including the building we are sitting in. We’ve created high value jobs here and we’ve invested hundreds of millions of pounds into Lancashire and the North West, which is something we are both proud of.”


Looking back on that original business journey, he recalls how the brothers developed a traditional petrol station business into a convenience retail destination, creating the concept that is now common across the country.


He says: “We had a good business. We had a lot of forecourt petrol stations in the UK. As we grew, we started asking ourselves, what’s changing out there?


“And we quickly understood the convenience market was growing. People were on the move and didn’t have time on their hands. They were looking for ‘top-up’ shopping.


“So, we gave them that opportunity and then asked what else people on the move were looking for. And it became clear they wanted convenient locations to access foodservice for breakfast, lunch and in the evening. Places like Subway, Burger King and Greggs were in the high street and shopping malls, but not on the roadside.


“We started working with these leading foodservice brands. We were the first petrol forecourt operator to integrate the Subway concession into a petrol station, the first to open Greggs, and we were also the first to own, build and operate a Starbucks drive-thru in the UK.


“We quickly created a destination feel. It was not just about fuel, it was about convenience – your groceries, your food, your coffee. It was


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