Co Op To Sell Petrol Forecourt Business To Rival Asda For 600M Cooperative Group

The sale includes 129 service stations with grocery stores across the UK, representing 5% of the Co-op’s retail estate with more than 2,500 points of sale, as well as three planned service stations which are yet to be developed. The group, which owns the grocery retailer and businesses including a funeral services provider, said proceeds from the sale of the “relatively small non-core forecourt petrol business” would be reinvested in its “core convenience” business. Supermarket chain Asda – and its petrol stations – were bought in 2021 by petrol station billionaires Mohsin and Zuber Issa and their private equity partner TDR Capital, who also co-own petrol station operator EG Group. The Blackburn-based brothers, who leased their first petrol station in 1999, already have around 700 petrol forecourts, making them a major player in Britain’s network of more than 8,000 petrol stations. Of these, 323 operate under the Asda brand. The Co-op estate will be folded into Asda and rebranded, with a combined 450 sites operating under the supermarket brand. Asda said the pumps and connected convenience stores would “create a new and distinct format for Asda in the convenience market”. Mohsin Issa described convenience stores as a “significant growth opportunity for the business”. He added: “We are very excited to be creating this new and distinct part of our business, giving us the opportunity to bring Asda’s value in fuel and groceries to even more customers and communities across the UK.” The Co-op said it plans to use money from the deal to increase its store fortunes and keep food prices competitive, while improving its retail offering, technology and logistics. The group said the proceeds will also be used to invest in its growing wholesale and e-commerce businesses. Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “This transaction is in line with our strategy to move away from petrol suburban operations and supports our vision of working together for a fairer world while building the our core leading business area. “ The deal is the latest in a long line of asset sales by the group, which has sold its pharmacies and travel agencies and its remaining stake in Co-operative Bank in 2017. It is expected to be completed in the last three months of the year. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In recent years, the Co-op has been battling to control spiraling debts, which shot up to £920m in its most recent results, up from £695m in 2019 and £550m in 2020. In July, the group announced it was cutting 400 jobs at its Manchester headquarters, as well as consulting for around 50 more job losses at Nisa, saying it faced difficult trading conditions amid rising inflation. Khoury-Haq said the Co-op would work closely with Asda to ensure a smooth transition of the petrol suburbs and their 2,300 employees to Asda.

title: “Co Op To Sell Petrol Forecourt Business To Rival Asda For 600M Cooperative Group Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-16” author: “Audrey Garza”

The sale includes 129 service stations with grocery stores across the UK, representing 5% of the Co-op’s retail estate with more than 2,500 points of sale, as well as three planned service stations which are yet to be developed. The group, which owns the grocery retailer and businesses including a funeral services provider, said proceeds from the sale of the “relatively small non-core forecourt petrol business” would be reinvested in its “core convenience” business. Supermarket chain Asda – and its petrol stations – were bought in 2021 by petrol station billionaires Mohsin and Zuber Issa and their private equity partner TDR Capital, who also co-own petrol station operator EG Group. The Blackburn-based brothers, who leased their first petrol station in 1999, already have around 700 petrol forecourts, making them a major player in Britain’s network of more than 8,000 petrol stations. Of these, 323 operate under the Asda brand. The Co-op estate will be folded into Asda and rebranded, with a combined 450 sites operating under the supermarket brand. Asda said the pumps and connected convenience stores would “create a new and distinct format for Asda in the convenience market”. Mohsin Issa described convenience stores as a “significant growth opportunity for the business”. He added: “We are very excited to be creating this new and distinct part of our business, giving us the opportunity to bring Asda’s value in fuel and groceries to even more customers and communities across the UK.” The Co-op said it plans to use money from the deal to increase its store fortunes and keep food prices competitive, while improving its retail offering, technology and logistics. The group said the proceeds will also be used to invest in its growing wholesale and e-commerce businesses. Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “This transaction is in line with our strategy to move away from petrol suburban operations and supports our vision of working together for a fairer world while building the our core leading business area. “ The deal is the latest in a long line of asset sales by the group, which has sold its pharmacies and travel agencies and its remaining stake in Co-operative Bank in 2017. It is expected to be completed in the last three months of the year. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In recent years, the Co-op has been battling to control spiraling debts, which shot up to £920m in its most recent results, up from £695m in 2019 and £550m in 2020. In July, the group announced it was cutting 400 jobs at its Manchester headquarters, as well as consulting for around 50 more job losses at Nisa, saying it faced difficult trading conditions amid rising inflation. Khoury-Haq said the Co-op would work closely with Asda to ensure a smooth transition of the petrol suburbs and their 2,300 employees to Asda.

title: “Co Op To Sell Petrol Forecourt Business To Rival Asda For 600M Cooperative Group Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-18” author: “Fannie Lowe”

The sale includes 129 service stations with grocery stores across the UK, representing 5% of the Co-op’s retail estate with more than 2,500 points of sale, as well as three planned service stations which are yet to be developed. The group, which owns the grocery retailer and businesses including a funeral services provider, said proceeds from the sale of the “relatively small non-core forecourt petrol business” would be reinvested in its “core convenience” business. Supermarket chain Asda – and its petrol stations – were bought in 2021 by petrol station billionaires Mohsin and Zuber Issa and their private equity partner TDR Capital, who also co-own petrol station operator EG Group. The Blackburn-based brothers, who leased their first petrol station in 1999, already have around 700 petrol forecourts, making them a major player in Britain’s network of more than 8,000 petrol stations. Of these, 323 operate under the Asda brand. The Co-op estate will be folded into Asda and rebranded, with a combined 450 sites operating under the supermarket brand. Asda said the pumps and connected convenience stores would “create a new and distinct format for Asda in the convenience market”. Mohsin Issa described convenience stores as a “significant growth opportunity for the business”. He added: “We are very excited to be creating this new and distinct part of our business, giving us the opportunity to bring Asda’s value in fuel and groceries to even more customers and communities across the UK.” The Co-op said it plans to use money from the deal to increase its store fortunes and keep food prices competitive, while improving its retail offering, technology and logistics. The group said the proceeds will also be used to invest in its growing wholesale and e-commerce businesses. Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “This transaction is in line with our strategy to move away from petrol suburban operations and supports our vision of working together for a fairer world while building the our core leading business area. “ The deal is the latest in a long line of asset sales by the group, which has sold its pharmacies and travel agencies and its remaining stake in Co-operative Bank in 2017. It is expected to be completed in the last three months of the year. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In recent years, the Co-op has been battling to control spiraling debts, which shot up to £920m in its most recent results, up from £695m in 2019 and £550m in 2020. In July, the group announced it was cutting 400 jobs at its Manchester headquarters, as well as consulting for around 50 more job losses at Nisa, saying it faced difficult trading conditions amid rising inflation. Khoury-Haq said the Co-op would work closely with Asda to ensure a smooth transition of the petrol suburbs and their 2,300 employees to Asda.

title: “Co Op To Sell Petrol Forecourt Business To Rival Asda For 600M Cooperative Group Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-18” author: “Bill Hibbitts”

The sale includes 129 service stations with grocery stores across the UK, representing 5% of the Co-op’s retail estate with more than 2,500 points of sale, as well as three planned service stations which are yet to be developed. The group, which owns the grocery retailer and businesses including a funeral services provider, said proceeds from the sale of the “relatively small non-core forecourt petrol business” would be reinvested in its “core convenience” business. Supermarket chain Asda – and its petrol stations – were bought in 2021 by petrol station billionaires Mohsin and Zuber Issa and their private equity partner TDR Capital, who also co-own petrol station operator EG Group. The Blackburn-based brothers, who leased their first petrol station in 1999, already have around 700 petrol forecourts, making them a major player in Britain’s network of more than 8,000 petrol stations. Of these, 323 operate under the Asda brand. The Co-op estate will be folded into Asda and rebranded, with a combined 450 sites operating under the supermarket brand. Asda said the pumps and connected convenience stores would “create a new and distinct format for Asda in the convenience market”. Mohsin Issa described convenience stores as a “significant growth opportunity for the business”. He added: “We are very excited to be creating this new and distinct part of our business, giving us the opportunity to bring Asda’s value in fuel and groceries to even more customers and communities across the UK.” The Co-op said it plans to use money from the deal to increase its store fortunes and keep food prices competitive, while improving its retail offering, technology and logistics. The group said the proceeds will also be used to invest in its growing wholesale and e-commerce businesses. Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “This transaction is in line with our strategy to move away from petrol suburban operations and supports our vision of working together for a fairer world while building the our core leading business area. “ The deal is the latest in a long line of asset sales by the group, which has sold its pharmacies and travel agencies and its remaining stake in Co-operative Bank in 2017. It is expected to be completed in the last three months of the year. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In recent years, the Co-op has been battling to control spiraling debts, which shot up to £920m in its most recent results, up from £695m in 2019 and £550m in 2020. In July, the group announced it was cutting 400 jobs at its Manchester headquarters, as well as consulting for around 50 more job losses at Nisa, saying it faced difficult trading conditions amid rising inflation. Khoury-Haq said the Co-op would work closely with Asda to ensure a smooth transition of the petrol suburbs and their 2,300 employees to Asda.