EG Group, the original forecourt business founded by Zuber and Mohsin Issa in 2001, attributes a 3% growth in UK foodservice in its first quarter results to the success of its Starbucks operations.
The business now only operates petrol filling stations overseas after selling 350-plus forecourts to Asda in 2023, which both the brothers had shares in at the time. The remaining 34 UK sites were transferred to Zuber.
Zuber sold his shares in the supermarket last year to fund the acquisitions and is now building his own network of more than 150 petrol filling stations with the EG On The Move fascia.
But EG Group, of which Zuber remains a non-executive director, retains its franchise agreement in the UK with Starbucks, operating 157 sites with the brand.
They are co-located on Asda (ex EG) forecourts, Asda supermarket car parks, and standalone restaurants, with around 50 at the Little Chef sites it acquired in 2017.
Other interests in the UK for EG Group include 156 Cooplands bakeries and electric vehicle charging business evpoint.
Mohsin, who co-owns Asda with UK private equity firm TDR Capital, stepped down from day-to-day duties as chief executive at EG Group in April. But the brothers remain co-owners of EG Group with TDR Capital.
EG Group now operates in America, Europe and Australia and it describes its first quarter trading performance as “resilient” with fuel volumes down 2.9%, and underlying EBITDA declining by 4% to $156 million. It says a strong performance from France and Italy, where it expanded the number of dealers who purchase fuel exclusively from the business, was offset by adverse weather conditions in the US and refinery disruptions temporarily limiting fuel supplies in Germany, as well as subdued market demand in Australia.
During the first quarter the business also acquired nine leasehold sites in north-east of the USA, and it introduced a Smart Rewards loyalty programme in America which has a membership of around two million. It has also increased basket size and led to larger petrol fill-ups, says the group’s recently appointed CEO Russ Colaco.
“Reflecting on my first few weeks since I transitioned to CEO, we continued to execute our successful strategy and lay the foundations to drive long-term growth,“ he says.
