Indian-origin billionaire brothers from UK buy retail giant Asda

A consortium of Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital will take a majority stake in Asda, a spokesperson for the brothers and the equity firm said.

Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa, sons of an immigrant from Gujarat who arrived to work in the textile industry, on Friday announced the acquisition of retail giant Asda (valued at £6.8 billion) currently owned by Walmart of the US, marking another success story in the UK’s Indian community.

Customers arrive and leave from an Asda supremarket store in Ashford, south east England on October 2.(AFP)

Based in Blackburn, Zuber Issa, 48, and Mohsin Issa, 49, began small, working on a petrol station in Greater Manchester in 2001, and went on to build a chain of thousands of petrol stations in Europe and the United States as part of their company, EG Group.

Their success story was hailed in a report by FICCI, consultant Grant Thornton and the Indian high commission in February, titled ‘India in the UK: The Diaspora Effect’.

A consortium of Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital will take a majority stake in Asda, a spokesperson for the brothers and the equity firm said. Walmart, which bought Asda in 1999 for £6.7 billion, will retain a minority stake in the chain.

The brothers 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”.