Miranda Barker OBE Chief executive
@elancschamber
COUNTY FIRMS SET TO DRIVE CHANGE AT COP28
Mohsin and Zuber Issa
ASDA PRICE FOR EG GROUP IS £2bn
Retail and petrol forecourt business EG Group has completed the sale of its UK operations to supermarket group Asda in a £2.07bn deal.
Blackburn headquartered EG Group was founded by the Issa brothers, Mohsin and Zuber, who are also based in the town and are co-owners of Asda.
Proceeds from the transaction will be used to repay EG’s debt, “significantly reducing net leverage” and enabling loans to be extended to February 2028. The business revealed it has also secured a new $500m loan, with further refinancing to follow.
In a statement it said: “The deal represents a transformational step for EG Group and strengthens its platform to further invest in its proven and successful strategy to rollout foodservice, grocery and merchandise to create multi-purpose convenience retail sites across its international estate.”
It says the group will remain a leading global convenience retailer, generating over $25bn of annual revenue and more than $1bn of EBITDA, across 5,500 locations.
The Waterside offices in Blackburn will remain as the global headquarters and shared service centre for the operation.
Zuber Issa, co-chief executive and co- founder of EG Group, said: “The sale of the majority of EG Group’s UK business to Asda represents an important strategic step for the company, enabling EG to support the continued roll out of its successful convenience retail, fuel and foodservice strategy and drive innovation to transform the consumer experience.
“This includes the ongoing investment and expansion of the EV charging business, ‘evpoint’, as well as hydrogen and other sustainable fuel retail infrastructure, which we continue to see as a significant future opportunity.
“Following this transaction and the successful extension of the debt maturities to February 2028, EG Group will benefit from a sustainable capital structure from which to build for the future.”
Lord Stuart Rose, in his role as chairman of EG Group, described the transaction as an important milestone for both companies.
He said: “EG Group can focus on international growth underpinned by its strengthened balance sheet, whilst Asda can accelerate its convenience rollout on proven, well-invested sites.
“There is now a clear opportunity to grow and build the international business whilst ensuring EG plays a pivotal role in the energy transition.”
For Asda, the transaction creates a group with expected combined revenues of nearly £28bn, serving 21m customers every week.
It follows its acquisition of 119 convenience sites with attached filling stations from the Co-op Group, which have started to convert to the Asda Express.
Asda says it will now roll out its Asda Express across EG UK’s 356 predominantly freehold sites, which include modern convenience stores on petrol filling stations, while committing to opening a further 300 stand-alone convenience stores by the end of 2026.
The EG Group acquisition also accelerates Asda’s move into the £62bn foodservice market, with the transfer of 462 Greggs, Burger King and Subway outlets as franchise agreements. Asda now wholly owns fast food chain Leon, which it will also look to introduce to its stores.
Gary Lindsay, managing partner at TDR Capital, which owns Asda with the Issas, said: “This transaction is all about growth – and bringing together the complementary strengths of Asda and EG UK.”
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
Across Lancashire a small band of intrepid low carbon tech firms are busy packing to take their wares to Dubai for COP28.
Leading the march with East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce and the RedCAT low carbon commercialisation driving initiative, are businesses like LiNa Energy, Isentra, IOT Horizon, Carbon Bit, Qwala and Green Shield Group. And there are more to come.
Buoyed by support from the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership they prepare to make the intrepid journey to showcase their low carbon leading tech to international business and public sector customers, while championing the cause for global climate change management and the role innovative tech can have in helping manage the crisis.
Plans are in place for our firms and others from British Chambers of Commerce from across the world to meet with UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho, her counterpart from the shadow cabinet Ed Miliband and other UK politicians out in Dubai, to raise the opportunities innovative low carbon technologies bring - to provide low carbon solutions and economic returns locally.
Meanwhile I and the chamber’s director of sustainability will also be in the COP28 negotiations sessions themselves, listening to the progress or otherwise being made in formulating new international agreements on how the world should tackle the global climate crisis.
Lancashire Low Carbon technology business leaders are right there at the centre of it all - demonstrating innovative solutions, informing the politicians, and driving the agenda - wish us luck, for everyone’s sake.
Keep an eye on the Chamber’s LinkedIn page from December 1 to 10 for our COP28 updates and videos on https://www.
linkedin.com/company/east-lancashire- chamber-of-commerce/
Call us on 01254 356400 or visit
chamberelancs.co.uk
13
IN VIEW
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70
