Billionaire Issa brothers who own Asda 'are plotting an £8bn takeover of fast food giant Subway'

The billionaire Issa brothers who own Asda are thought to be eyeing up fast-food giant Subway in a reported £8billion takeover. 

It is thought Mohsin, 51, and Zuber, 50, are looking to acquire the restaurant chain, which they believe will fit well into their empire. 

The brother’s EG Group already has Subway restaurants in some of its more than 6,300 petrol stations around the world, 340 of which are based in the UK. 

A source told the Sun: ‘EG Group have felt for a while that Subway treated them the same way as other franchise partners and their massive growth hadn’t been appreciated. So what better way to show who’s boss than owning them’. 

The business titans, who are the children of immigrants who moved to Blackburn from Gujurat, India, in the 1970s, saw a rapid expansion of their business after they teamed up with TDR capital. 

It is thought Mohsin, 51, and Zuber, 50, are looking to acquire the restaurant chain, which they believe will fit well into their empire

They started out with one petrol station, but then acquired several stations before embarking on their successful £6.8billion takeover of supermarket giant Asda in 2021

They started out with one petrol station, but then acquired several stations before embarking on their successful £6.8billion takeover of supermarket giant Asda in 2021. 

The deal also included its chain of petrol forecourts. 

It was thought Walmart was wooed by the Issas’ entrepreneurial flair and the potential to put Asda convenience stores in EG’s petrol stations. 

Since then, the brother’s EG Group had purchased food chain Leon, and has made a bid to add Caffe Nero to its collection of businesses. 

They are also believed to have looked into a bid to takeover Boots. 

The group also owns KFC’s biggest franchise, and has a close working relationship with the likes of UK favourite Greggs, as well as Starbucks, Krispy Kreme and Cinnabon.