Euro Garages in £50m Esso swoop

Blackburn based Euro Garages has acquired 45 company-owned service stations from Esso in a deal thought to be worth around £50m.

The companies have entered into a long-term fuel agreement and customers can expect the same buying experience at these Euro Garages sites under the Esso brand. The portfolio’s existing retail space will be converted to SPAR-branded convenience stores over the coming months.

Zuber Issa, chief executive, added: “This acquisition adds a collection of premium location sites to our portfolio, providing considerable opportunity for further development and value creation in the estate alongside our partnership brands. It also brings a team of skilled, customer-focussed employees who will be crucial to our continued commitment to service on the front line.”

Phil Skupski, manager of Handelsbanken's Blackburn Branch added, "The management team at Euro Garages have an outstanding track record and we are delighted to have worked alongside Lloyds in the latest stage of their expansion."

Euro Garages was founded in 2001 by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, sons of Gujarati immigrants who came to Blackburn in the 1960s, following the acquisition of a single, derelict petrol filling station in Bury, Greater Manchester. Prior to that, the brothers had run a newsagents in Preston town centre while still in their teens.