EG Group co-founder Zuber Issa is planning to stand down as co-chief executive of the petrol station empire that he built, leaving his brother Mohsin Issa to lead the business.
Salim Hasan, the chief operating officer of EG Group, also intends to step down, however, the prospective changes will only happen if Zuber Issa completes a deal to buy a selection of sites from EG Group, according to a bond prospectus seen by Bloomberg News.
EG Group investors have been told that it is in “active discussions with Zuber regarding the sale” of UK assets.
The Issa brothers founded EG Group in 2001, and it is now co-owned by the brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital. The brothers and TDR also bought Asda in 2021 in a £6.8bn deal.
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Zuber has been exploring a sale of his 22.5% stake in Asda to enable him to focus his efforts on EG Group and has approached retailers and private equity firms looking for more than £500 million for his shares, according to reports.
It comes as brother Mohsin Issa, who has been running Asda, revealed this month that he would step back from day-to-day operations at the supermarket and would hire a new CEO.
Bloomberg also reported that EG Group is eyeing a sale of Australian business after writing down the value of the business twice since its Aus$1.73bn (£900m) acquisition in 2018.
Last March, EG sold and leased back 415 of its American convenience stores to Realty Income for $1.5 billion (£1.18bn) to help to drive down its debts. Two months later, it sold its UK and Ireland forecourts business to Asda for £2.27 billion.
An EG Group spokesperson said it regularly reviewed the company’s portfolio. “If an asset is potentially more appropriately owned by a third party, then the board will consider it,” they added.
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