Billionaire Asda owners have bought 52 branches of KFC in the South and South-West, making them the biggest operators in Europe. Brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa own the EG Group, which bought the fast food outlets from Amsric Group. The 52 branches employ over 1,600 staff, and include traditional KFC sit-down restaurants and drive-through outlets. The deal means the Issa Brothers now control more than 220 of the fried chicken restaurants.
They released a joint statement saying, “We have seen a marked upward trend in the performance of our existing KFC network and this has given us confidence to consider and invest in more assets. The network we have acquired is a strong portfolio of assets and we are looking forward to working with the Amsric management team and KFC to ensure a smooth transition for the teams and an effectively managed transfer of operations and assets.”
Amsric Group managing director Ragin Patel said, “As a family-managed business, we take a people-first approach and wanted to ensure our KFC network went to a new owner who is committed to investing in the network and allowing our employees to realise opportunities for professional growth.”
Mohsin, and Zuber started out in a garage bought by their father. They went on to branch out on their own, first renting a petrol station for two years, then in 2001 buying their first forecourt, a derelict freehold site in Bury, and formed Euro Garages (EG). The company now has almost 6,000 sites across 10 countries, from the UK to the US and Australia, runs outlets for Greggs, Starbucks, and KFC, and employs 44,000 people.
