Zuber Issa’s EG On The Move is expanding to France, buying around 260 forecourts from EG Group, the business he still partly owns with brother Mohsin and private equity firm TDR Capital.
The development – which is subject to final regulatory approvals and expected to complete in the second quarter – is a significant expansion for the fast-growing start-up, which Zuber Issa established in 2023 and until now has only operated UK sites.
Issa describes the purchase as a “proactive and disciplined step [towards] strengthening our market position”, noting that his senior executive team has experience of the market having managed the French operation from 2016 until November 2024.
EG On The Move currently operates from 420 locations, comprising 160 forecourts and more than 210 foodservice concessions in the UK.
“The proposed acquisition of the French network from EG Group will further diversify our portfolio, allow us to invest in our recognised retail channels and create additional opportunities to roll out rapid EV charging infrastructure,” he says.
EG On The Move has been one of the industry’s electrification pioneers, having installed rapid EV chargers at around 50 of its sites.
Issa adds that the agreement includes “a structured transition plan to ensure continuity and full compliance with French energy sector regulations”, which are intended to encourage forecourts and the wider automotive industry to transition as quickly as possible to electric transport.
The intended sale is the latest in a series of divestments by the once multinational EG Group, which is repairing its balance sheet by paying down debt as it focuses on its successful US business and an initial public offering in New York.
EG has already exited the Italian market, is divesting its Australian forecourt interests, and late last year sold its French fuel wholesale operation. It is also in the process of offloading several forecourts around Paris to property developers for alternative use.
EG Group moved into France in 2016 with the acquisition of European Forecourt Retail Group. Its annual report for 2024 showed that it was running 300 sites, including all the BP forecourts in the country along with around 50 Esso Express branded locations.
Zuber Issa stepped down as co-CEO of EG Group in 2024 to focus on establishing and expanding EG On The Move, although he remained a non-executive director of EG alongside his brother, with whom he had shared CEO duties. Mohsin Issa has since stepped back from a day-to-day executive role.
