Euro Garages in merger with EFR

Euro Garages has merged with the Continental operator EFR to form a group with 1,450 locations and an annual turnover of about 6bn.

Euro Garages and EFR will continue to operate under their own names with their current CEOs and senior leadership teams, and a new holding company named Intervias has been established, with a small corporate office in London.

Euro Garages had already been working closely with EFR after its owner, private equity firm TDR Capital, bought a minority stake in Euro Garages a year ago.

At the time of the deal, which valued Euro Garages at £1.3bn, it said it expected a merger of the two businesses would take place in 2016.

EFR owns more than 1,100 sites in Benelux and France, and the merged group will be serving more than six million customers a week through the management and operation of brands including BP, Esso, Shell, Texaco, Carrefour, Greggs, Louis Delhaize, Starbucks and Subway.

In a statement announcing the merger, Intervias said EFR and Euro Garages will share best practices by leveraging EFR’s fuel purchasing and distribution expertise and international experience while benefiting from Euro Garages’ expertise in managing brand partnerships and delivering retail excellence.

Intervias will be chaired by former Asda boss Tony DeNunzio and Intervias said he would drive growth, both organically and through further international acquisitions.

DeNunzio said: "I am excited to lead Intervias the new combination of EFR and Euro Garages. They are both companies with an exceptional performance record. We will play a pivotal role in the further consolidation of the petrol forecourt retail sector. We have an ambitious retail growth strategy and I am proud to play a role in this process as group chairman."

Euro Garages co-founder and chief executive Mohsin Issa said: "We are very excited with this great combination of best-in-class operators, gaining a further commercial insight from the unique fuel expertise of EFR. Furthermore, I am very pleased with Tony DeNunzio’s appointment as our new group chairman."