Issa brothers’ EG Group acquires UK’s second-largest bakery business
Petrol station forecourt giant EG Group has acquired the country’s second-largest bakery business, Cooplands
The Issa brothers’ firm has acquired CS Food Group Holdings Limited, which operates a number of bakeries that produce and distribute fresh food to some 180 stores and cafes.
The bakery business mostly operates across the north-east and Yorkshire regions and employs more than 1,600 staff members.
The acquisition will give Cooplands an opportunity to move into petrol forecourts and retail convenience stores, as well as its traditional formats.
Zuber and Mohsin Issa, founders and joint chief executives of EG Group, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Cooplands’ many talented colleagues to the EG Group family. Cooplands has a proven track record in the fresh bakery sector and vertical integration with EG Group will help to further drive our success in foodservice, where we continue to see strong growth opportunities in the UK and globally.”
Third party foodservice brands
The brothers said the bakery business was “another fantastic fresh food brand to add to EG Group’s existing portfolio of third-party foodservice brands,” following its takeover of Leon in May.
Belinda Youngs, CEO of Cooplands, said: “Cooplands is proud to be joining EG Group and bringing our long history of skills and expertise in the bakery industry in both manufacturing and retail to the company. We are looking forward to a great future for the Cooplands brand.”
The billionaire brothers took over major supermarket brand Asda for £6.8bn last year with private equity group TDR Capital.
EG Group recently acquired more than 50 KFC sites across the south of the UK for a not-yet-disclosed sum.