A record rise in 'to-go' food and delivery demand helped petrol station giant EG Group's profits accelerate during the first three months of the year ahead of its acquisition of Leon Restaurants.
The Blackburn-headquartered group, which is run by the Issa brothers, has reported a 140.9% rise in its foodservice arm's gross profits from £45m to £109m in the period to the end of March 2021.
The surge helped its group EBITDA also increase 5.8% from £251m to £265m over the same period.
However, total revenue reversed 7.1% from £5.735bn to £5.331bn with fuel gross profit falling 5.3% from £438m to £415m and grocery and merchandise going from £304m to £294m.
During the period the group opened seven new sites while in April it was announced that it had agreed to acquire Leon Restaurants.
EG has said it expects to "significantly increase" Leon’s "historic profitability", supported by the roll out of new sites across the EG portfolio and distribution of Leon’s FMCG products across the group’s convenience retail proposition.
In February it was announced that the group had agreed to buy Asda's forecourts business in a deal worth £750m.
Subject to clearance by the CMA, the deal is expected to complete in the second half of the year, the group added.
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In a joint statement, co-founders and co-CEOs Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa said: "We are pleased to report a resilient performance in Q1 2021, which is testament to the ongoing dedication of our colleagues around the world, and underscores the benefits of our scale and diversified business model.
"At the same time, the Group has continued to take significant and proactive steps forward in its longer-term development.
"This includes the recently announced acquisition of Leon Restaurants, along with the previously announced Asda Forecourts and OMV Germany acquisitions.
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"These exciting transactions will further strengthen EG’s growth prospects in both fuel and non-fuel operations.
"Together they highlight the increasing breadth and scale of our portfolio, and the continued growth of our foodservice operations, which are a key element of the group’s growth strategy.
"Looking ahead, assuming the continued easing of global Covid restrictions, we expect to see more positive trading conditions as we continue to provide an essential service to millions of customers in communities globally.
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"Additionally, the continued strengthening of our board and leadership functions demonstrates the group’s commitment to implementing best practice in corporate governance and the importance we attribute to ESG, while helping us to deliver on the significant growth opportunities that lie ahead."
The group's net debt has remained at £8.9bn while its liquidity headroom dropped from £1.2bn to £1bn.
Founded in 2001, the group now employs more than 44,000 people across over 6,000 sites in Europe, the USA and Australia.