Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

EG Group appoints Lord Rose of Monewden as chairman to develop 'appropriate governance structures'

EG Group appoints Lord Rose of Monewden as chairman to develop 'appropriate governance structures'

THE retail veteran Lord Rose of Monewden, former boss of Marks & Spencer, has been appointed as chairman of the Issa brothers’ petrol station empire as it seeks to allay corporate governance concerns before a potential multibillion-pound stock market listing this year.

Lord Rose, 71, has taken the non-executive role at EG Group with immediate effect and is due to step down as chairman of the FTSE 100 online grocer Ocado in May.


EG Group, which is registered in Jersey, is owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, billionaire businessmen from Blackburn, and the private equity firm TDR Capital, who last year agreed to acquire Asda for £6.8 billion from the US retail giant Walmart.

The debt-fuelled takeover of Asda, Britain’s third largest supermarket chain, has brought scrutiny of the brothers and EG, which, until the appointment of Lord Rose and of John Carey, a former executive at BP and at the Abu Dhabi oil group Andoc, as a non-executive in November, had no independent board members.

Lord Rose, a Conservative life peer, has previously been involved in his own corporate governance contentions. His dual chief executive-chairman role at Marks & Spencer triggered concerns from shareholders in 2008 because it breached corporate governance rules.

EG Group has not had a chairman for four years after the former Asda boss Tony Denunzio left shortly after a merger between EG Group and European Forecourt Retail Group, TDR’s European petrol business.

Concerns about the strength of EG Group’s board were heightened when it emerged in October that Deloitte had resigned as its auditor because of concerns over the group’s governance and lack of internal controls. KPMG has since been appointed.

The Issa brothers created EG Group from a single petrol station in Bury in 2001. It operates convenience stores, food service outlets and petrol stations at more than 6,000 sites in 10 countries.

Lord Rose said he had been asked to “develop appropriate governance structures for a business of this scale”. He added: “The business has exciting development plans and exceptional prospects in the years to come.”

His other board roles include his chairmanship of Zenith Automotive, a vehicle leasing company, Majid Al Futtaim, a Middle Eastern retail and leisure group and RM2 International, a struggling formerly listed pallet manufacturer.

He is also an adviser to the private equity firm Bridgepoint and was chairman of the retailer Fatface until September.

More For You

Shein-Reuters

Shein had aimed to go public in London in the first half of this year, subject to regulatory approvals in the UK and China. (Photo: Reuters)

Shein cuts valuation to £40 billion for London listing

SHEIN is preparing to lower its valuation to around £40 billion for a potential initial public offering (IPO) in London, according to three Reuters sources familiar with the matter.

This is nearly 25 per cent lower than the company's 2023 fundraising valuation as it faces increasing challenges.

Keep ReadingShow less
Northern-Superchargers-Getty

Ben Stokes and Matthew Short of Northern Superchargers walk out to bat during The Hundred match between Manchester Originals and Northern Superchargers on August 11, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sunrisers Hyderabad to acquire Northern Superchargers in £100 million deal

INDIAN Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad is set to become the first full owners of an English Hundred team after agreeing to buy Yorkshire’s Northern Superchargers for a reported £100 million.

The Sun Group will be the third IPL-linked investor in the eight-team Hundred competition, following Reliance Industries, which owns Mumbai Indians, and RPSG, which runs Lucknow Super Giants.

Keep ReadingShow less
BT-Getty

A view of the British Telecom (BT) headquarters in central London. (Photo: Getty Images)

BT to remove diversity targets from manager bonuses

BT will remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) targets from its manager bonus scheme, replacing them with a measure of overall employee engagement.

The change, set to take effect in April, follows consultation with major investors and has received “strong support,” according to the company, The Telegraph reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
India's central bank cuts interest rates for first time since 2020

The central bank announced a 25-basis-point cut in the benchmark repo rate to 6.25 per cent, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks.. (Photo credit: Reuters)

India's central bank cuts interest rates for first time since 2020

THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA (RBI) reduced interest rates on Friday for the first time in nearly five years, citing concerns over economic growth despite inflation risks.

The central bank announced a 25-basis-point cut in the benchmark repo rate to 6.25 per cent, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate with Adani over renewable energy plants

Gautam Adani

Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate with Adani over renewable energy plants

SRI LANKA’S government started talks with India’s Adani Group to lower the cost of power from two wind power projects the group will build in the island nation’s northern province, the cabinet spokesman said last Tuesday (28).

Sri Lanka has been reviewing the group’s local projects after US authorities in November accused billionaire founder Gautam Adani and other executives of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts. Adani has denied the allegations.

Keep ReadingShow less