Zuber Issa trebles the size of his petrol forecourts business with Applegreen deal
Blackburn-based EG On the Move has expanded its petrol station portfolio with a deal for 98 sites from Irish forecourts group Applegreen, for an undisclosed sum.
The deal is expected to complete at the end of this month and will take EG On the Move’s estate to nearly 150 petrol stations.
All 1,142 Applegreen staff in its UK business are expected to transfer to EG On the Move, other than a small number of staff working in functions “where there is overlap”.
Applegreen’s Welcome Break business in the UK, which employs more than 6,000 staff at 59 locations, is unaffected by the sale.
Co-founder and CEO, Joe Barrett, said: “We remain totally committed to our presence and further expansion in the UK market and have significant plans to expand both Welcome Break and our EV charging business there, as part of the €1bn investment plan that we announced late last year.”
He added: “We are growing the Welcome Break business in the UK by developing new-build locations and revamping many of our existing sites. We have a strong pipeline of additional UK sites for development on locations adjacent to motorways and alongside a number of major A-roads.
“This week, for example, we will open a new £55m state-of-the-art Welcome Break MSA on the M1 near Rotherham.”
EG On the Move was founded by Zuber Issa and Imraan Patel as a separate business to EG Group in June last year.
They acquired the 34-forecourt portfolio from EG Group – which Zuber previously founded with brother Mohsin in 2001 – in a £228m deal.
EG On The Move recently signed a new franchise agreement with the Co-op to supply seven newly-built stores. It also works with stores chain Spar.
EG On The Move sites are generally focused on new-build sites that have a number of individual drive-thru buildings, next to a forecourt with a large building and a number of food options inside.
Unusually, fuel is sold under their own brand name, after negotiating with suppliers, putting them in a similar position to the Welcome Break brand.
It also has an emphasis on electric vehicle charging, with the brand EV On The Move replacing EG Group’s EV Point.
Law firm, Freeths advised EG On the Move on the deal.
