They built their empire from a Bury petrol station and in just over two decades Mohsin and Zuber Issa have gone from the humble beginnings of a terraced house in Lancashire to self-made billionaires.
The billionaire brothers were brought up by Indian-born Vali and Zubeda who came to the UK from Gujarat in the 1960s to work in the textile industry. Their parents later ran a petrol pump which no doubt sparked the inspiration behind the creation of Euro Garages by Mohsin and Zuber in 2001.
After buying their first petrol station in Bury, the two brothers embarked on their ambitious Euro Garages empire-building journey. Aside from their majority ownership of Asda, completed in 2020, annual sales from Euro Garages exceeded €20 billion in 2021.
Despite their global success the Issa brothers continue to invest in their hometown of Blackburn, and in a nod to their philanthropic vision they were both appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to business and charity.
Manchester Evening News' sister website LancsLive has taken a look at some of the Issa brothers' biggest projects that are completed, underway or in the pipeline for the future as well as the companies they run.
First drive-thru Indian street food restaurant
In Bolton lies the first drive-thru Indian street food restaurant in the country. The Chaiiwala dine in and drive-thru outlet has launched on Manchester Road in Bolton. Chaiiwala originated on the streets of Delhi in 1927 and the UK's first store launched in Leicester in 2016, in turn expanding its menu to include Indian street food, teas and soft drinks.
There are more than 50 restaurants in the UK with many franchises located at Blackburn-born Issa Brothers-owned EG Group. The Bolton venue has launched in partnership with the Issa brother's EG Group
More Starbucks
The Issa brothers' portfolio could expand further. Asda Skelmersdale is next on the hit list for Zuber and Mohsin Issa who plan to build a drive thru restaurant/coffee shop on the grounds of the supermarket car park. Proposals outline the car park situated off Northway and Ingam Road in the West Lancashire town will be redeveloped to make way for the new addition
New £5m mosque in Blackburn
Construction started at the site in Preston New Road after planning permission was granted back in March 2021 thanks to funding from the Issa Foundation. The two towering 29-metre minarets have recently been added and the impressive steel structure is now starting to take place.
The Issa Foundation
The Issa Foundation, a registered charity set up in 2016, has just the two brothers listed as trustees. The most recently-published financial figures for the charity show that in the 12 months to December 2021 the Issa Foundation had an income of £10,719 and spent a total of £6,730,966 on its aim of "the advancement of education health and employment of people in need, in particular disadvantaged communities".
In 2020, under the ambition of being dedicated to "providing support to orphans, widows and less fortunate regardless of race, culture or religion", the foundation spent £51,299 supporting educational projects, £316,101 on emergency aid, £5,613,102 on food, £633,733 on health, £413, 326 on housing, £173,656 on an orphanage, £102,014 on social projects and £33,142 on water schemes.
Construction of five mansions in Blackburn
The brothers' scheme to knock down eight houses in Billinge End Road and replace them with five new luxury residences, for themselves and their family to live in, caused uproar in 2018 with local residents strongly opposed to what they branded ‘The McMansions'. Mohsin and Zuber's attitude to planning laws was criticised by locals with one saying: “The whole thing has been a pantomime. What we are left with is not two but five ugly sisters."
Industrial park units
The property arm of the Issa brothers' business empire has applied for detailed planning permission for a new commercial unit on the edge of a Burnley industrial park.
Monte Blackburn Ltd want to build a 50,000 square metre industrial/warehouse unit with ancillary office floor space, car parking, servicing area and landscaping. The site, which already has outline planning permission, is located off Accrington Road (A679) and lies to the South West of the existing Network 65 Industrial Estate near Hapton.
Other goings on
Failed takeover attempts
In 2021, the brothers lost out to ASOS in hoping to acquire the fashion retailer Topshop. In 2022, the brothers attempted to acquire pharmacy chain Boots, however its American owners Walgreens decided to retain it and took it off the market.
Later in the year, the brothers attempted to acquire McColl's, but lost out to Morrisons. Attempts to acquire Caffè Nero have also fallen through.
Asda ownership
In October 2021 it was confirmed that the brothers had bought Asda from Walmart of the US, in a deal valuing the supermarket chain at £6.8bn, as part of a consortium alongside private equity firm TDR Capital. Walmart decided to sell a controlling stake in Asda after shelving plans to float the business following a failed £7.3bn merger with Sainsbury's, which was blocked on competition grounds.
EG Group
EG Group is jointly owned by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, the private equity firm they partnered with to acquire Asda in 2021, and was started in 2001 by Mohsin and Zuber. The group, whose brands include Euro Garages, Coopland and Leon, has over 6,600 sites across the world.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
