Dive Brief:
- EG Group co-CEO Zuber Issa will step down from his post later this year, the convenience retailer announced on Friday.
- Issa has agreed to acquire EG Group’s forecourt business in the U.K., as well as certain standalone foodservice locations, for 228 million pounds, or roughly $292 million. He’s expected to shift into a non-executive director role with EG once the deal closes in the second half of this year, with his brother and current co-CEO, Mohsin Issa, taking sole leadership of the company.
- EG has also named Russell Colaco as its new chief financial officer, as incumbent Michael Bradley has decided to leave the company.
Dive Insight:
Although EG did not specify what Zuber Issa plans to do with the locations he’s agreed to acquire, signs point to the executive continuing to run these stores in some capacity. In the announcement, Mohsin Issa noted that he supports his brother’s “desire to return to his entrepreneurial U.K. roots.”
Once the deal closes, EG Group will have one CEO for the first time since the Issa brothers founded the company in 2001.
“We are both – and the wider Board – laser-focused on our key growth opportunities,” Mohsin and Zuber Issa said in the announcement. “Encouragingly, following the significant progress to strengthen our balance sheet, we have a capital structure which allows us to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us continuing to deliver our best-in-class services to our customers around the world.”
EG plans to use the proceeds from the deal to repay debt, according to the announcement. Once the deal closes, EG will continue to operate in the U.K. through Cooplands, its wholly owned bakery business, as well as its proprietary EV charging business and its Starbucks franchises.
The announcement of Zuber Issa’s departure comes about two months after reports surfaced that the executive was planning to leave the company. At the time, EG Group declined to comment on speculation that its co-CEO and founder would be leaving.
As EG revealed its CEO change, the company also noted that Bradley, the company’s former CFO, decided to leave after about two years to pursue other opportunities. Effective June 7, Colaco has been named CFO.
Prior to joining EG, Colaco spent nearly two years as CFO for food and beverage company Foster Farms, according to his LinkedIn bio. Before that, he was vice president of corporate development for Campbell Soup Company, as well as CFO for Brazilian food manufacturer JBS.
Blackburn, U.K.-based EG Group currently has more than 5,500 c-stores across the U.S., U.K. and Ireland, Europe and Australia. EG America is EG Group’s largest operation globally, with 1,500-plus sites across 10 banners in 30 states, including Cumberland Farms, Fastrac, Kwik Shop and Tom Thumb.
