Morrisons is pushing ahead with plans to offload its petrol forecourts business as it looks to bring down its soaring debts.
The supermarket is understood to be staying firm on its decision to exit fuel retailing to focus on its core food and manufacturing business instead.
The grocer is continuing discussions to sell all 340 of its petrol stations to Motor Fuel Group, which is also owned by private equity firm CD&R, This is Money reported.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
It is estimated that the deal could generate £2.5bn for Morrisons.
The funds would help the grocer pay off some of the £6.6bn debt pile that was dumped upon it following CD&R’s acquisition in 2021.
If the transaction goes ahead, it is likely to reignite concerns that the private equity firm is selling off Morrisons asset base to pay down debts.
CD&R has already sold off seven of the supermarket’s warehouses, which it now leases back.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
9 Comments. Leave new
Morrisons morecambe is rubbish it only gives points on certain things to make you buy what you don’t want not for me nectar is best followed by tesco points with any buy
Morrisons is being asset stripped it will be worthless and broken up within 5 years.
Asda for all their faults did it the other way expanding its brand by buying EGs forecourts and gaining a lot of convenience stores. If the owners were smart they would have done the same and expanded Morrisons to all MFG locations and directly benefit from 100% of the revenues.
The point is they are not trying to expand the business. They are taking out what they can before it collapses. Then move in to their next victim having banked millions.
These “investment” companies are only interested in self. Like human cultures, and I use the term human in the loosest possible terms.
Asda was bought out they did not buy EG forecourts, EG bought Asda.
EG & ASDA are the same company. The ISSA brothers control both.
Surely selling the forecourts cuts the profits aswell cost of living crisis will get worse and people will spend less in big supermarkets and go to aldi and Lidl instead
As its C,D&R that would be buying these forecourts its simply an exercise in “robbing Peter to pay Paul” as C,D&R now own Morrisons.
C,D&R have been rumoured to be moving into the EV charging market and would be using petrol forecourts to install EV charging points.
Well you know why asda sold its forecourts they were bought by a company which just so happens to be owned by the 2 brother’s that own asda?, smell a rat ?
Morrisons offers are rubbish, always 3 for 2 or 2 for £* offers. Single people or the elderly do not want multiple buys, just cheaper food.