What started out as a petrol forecourt business has grown into a global empire and a private fortune worth billions for the Issa brothers.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa built up their and now each have a net worth of £3.56 billion.
Recognised with ain the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours after the Asda acquisition, the pair have continued to snap up or show interest in buying some big names.
Most recently, the pair are considering a takeover of Boots worth up to £10bn, according to reports.
They are understood to have discussed a potential move for the Beeston-headquartered company at a senior level, and would see the pair take on more than 2,000 pharmacies.
The historic chain is currently owned by US giant Wallgreens Boots Alliance.
Here, we run down some of the brands now owned or linked to the Issa brothers.
Caffe Nero
The brothers are chain, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
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Reports suggest that they could be close to an agreement with Caffe Nero after buying the coffee chain's debt.
According to the , the Issa brothers bought around £140m of loans from Partners Group, a Swiss private equity firm, via investment bank Morgan Stanley. That move leaves them in a strong position to take control of the high street chain, which has around 900 海角视频 stores, should it default on its borrowing.
However, in November suggested that Caffe Nero has drafted in advisers as it seeks to refinance debts of almost £150 million and keep Asda’s Issa brothers at bay.
The coffee chain’s founder Gerry Ford has hired investment bankers from Lazard to advise on funding options.
Leon
The brothers' EG Group announced in April that it had bought fast food chain Leon in a deal worth £100m.
The Issa brothers plan to invest in the brand that was founded by Henry Dimbleby, John Vincent and chef Allegra McEvedy and has over 70 restaurants, mainly in London.
A statement from EG Group said: “EG Group continues to identify innovative partnerships and acquisitions that complement our existing consumer offer and enable us to stay at the forefront of consumer trends, particularly in foodservice,” the Issa brothers said.
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“Our equity investment in Leon is to strengthen our own participation in the fast-growing contemporary foodservice segment.
“This acquisition aligns with our commitment to being a committed foodservice operator globally, delivers financial benefit to our underlying business, and supports broader commercial strategies to be able to better realise further growth opportunities.”
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COOPLANDS
The Issa brothers' EG Group acquired the 海角视频's second-largest bakery business in April.
CS Food Group Holdings, which is behind Cooplands, owns three bakeries that process ingredients and manufacture fresh food distributed through its supply and logistics network to about 180 stores and cafes, predominantly across the North East and Yorkshire.
Founded by Frederick and Alice Coopland in 1885, Cooplands employs more than 1,600 people.
READ MORE: Issa brother's petrol station giant EG Group gives 10,500 海角视频 staff pay rises
An EG Group statement said at the time that yhe acquisition will accelerate EG Group’s growing and successful diversification into foodservice.
EG Group said it planned to invest in the Cooplands brand and fresh food offer..
Asda
Walmart sold the supermarket chain Asda to the brothers in a deal worth £6.8bn in October 2020.
The Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital announced the purchase the supermarket giant through jointly owned company Bellis.
They promised to maintain pay levels for Asda staff and said the chain will have low prices for food and petrol for customers. They have also pledged to increase the proportion of goods bought from 海角视频 suppliers and will source all of their beef from this country.
Walmart, which bought Asda in 1999 for £6.7bn, will retain a small stake in the business.
Asda will remain headquartered in Leeds, and will continue to be led by chief executive Roger Burnley.
EG Group secured an agreement to buy Asda's forecourts business in a separate deal worth £750m but pulled out of the deal in October.
The Competition and Markets Authority had over competition in some areas of the 海角视频.
That's because the EG Group operates 395 petrol stations in the 海角视频, while Asda owns 323.
Euro Garages
The brothers founded Euro Garages in 2001 with the acquisition of a single petrol filling station in Bury, Greater Manchester. Since then, it has grown into a portfolio of around 4500 sites across the 海角视频, mainland Europe, the USA and Australia.
Recognising that motorists needed more from the forecourt than just petrol, they installed branches of Spar, Carrefour and other supermarket chains alongside Subway outlets, Burger King, Greggs and KFC.
The majority of its petrol stations are ESSO branded with others branded Shell, Texaco and and BP.
KFC and Starbucks franchises
EG Group and it is the largest franchise operator of KFC in Europe, with around 145 outlets in 海角视频 and Ireland.
And in the United States...
EG Group entered the US market entered the US market through the initial acquisition of 763 Kroger C-Stores in April 2018.
It quickly snapped up Fastrac, Certified Oil and Minit Mart all within a year.
In October 2020, EG Group announced the completion of their Cumberland Farms acquisition - a series of 567 convenience stores in seven northeast states and Florida.
The move took EG Group’s USA network to 1,680 gas station and convenience stores across 31 states and retailing more than 2.5 billion gallons of fuel with merchandise sales of more than $3 billion on an annualized basis.
In Australia...
EG Group announced in April 2019 it had bought Woolworth’s petrol business in Australia for A$1.725 billion. It operates 540 sites network and employing around 4,000 people. The brothers said it would help further grown in the pan Asia region.
In Italy...
EG Group now owns 1,176 Esso branded service stations, located in several Italian regions.