“So what better way to show who’s boss than owning them.”
The billionaire Issa brothers are reportedly plotting an £8 billion takeover of global sandwich giant Subway.
Blackburn-born Mohsin and Zuber are understood to be looking at adding the 44,000-restaurant chain to their business portfolio.
Their EG Group already has a Subway at some of its more than 6,300 petrol stations across the world, including at the 340 petrol stations in the UK.
It is reported that the brothers believe Subway would be an ideal fit for their growing business empire.
A source told The Sun: “EG Group have felt for a while that Subway treated them the same way as other franchise partners and their massive growth hadn’t been appreciated.
“So what better way to show who’s boss than owning them.”
Another source said: “It would make good sense.”
The Issa brothers entered the business world by founding Euro Garages and having just one petrol station in Bury.
hey soon formed a network of forecourts across the UK.
With the backing of TDR Capital, they formed EG Group and expanded across Europe.
The brothers took over Asda for £6.8 billion in February 2021 and at the time, they said they wanted to support Asda’s management to achieve long-term growth.
They said: “We believe that our experience with EG Group, including our expertise around convenience and brand partnerships and our successful partnership with TDR Capital, can help to accelerate and execute that growth strategy.”
The Issa brothers went on to acquire food chain Leon.
Nick Ayerst, managing director of the chain, had called it a “significant milestone” for Leon.
He said: “We’ve been discussing the first Leon drive-thru with EG Group for five years now, and we’re excited to open in West Yorkshire later this year.
“We have three other Leons in the surrounding area and we’ve received such a warm welcome from locals, who tell us they love our naturally fast food.
“We receive lots of emails and tweets every week asking us to open even more restaurants in the north, and we hope this opening signifies that there are many more to come.”
The brothers also purchased bakery chain Cooplands.
They have also tried to acquire the likes of ASOS, Boots, McColl’s and Caffè Nero, with plans later falling through.
The brothers own a stake in upmarket sportswear brand Castore.
EG Group owns KFC’s biggest franchise and has relations with Krispy Kreme, Cinnabon, Greggs and Starbucks as well as Subway.
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