Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Issa brothers appoint Dame Alison Carnwath as audit committee chair

Issa brothers appoint Dame Alison Carnwath as audit committee chair

THE EG Group, owned by the Issa brothers, has appointed Dame Alison Carnwath, 68, as non-executive director and chairwoman of the audit committee.

She will join next month as the group attempts to allay corporate governance concerns, reported The Times.


Dame Carnwath will reunite with Lord Rose of Monewden, 71, who was named chairman of the petrol station empire last month.

Earlier, she was the chairman of Land Securities from 2008 to 2018 while Rose was a non-executive director at the property group from 2003 to 2013.

Rose said: “I joined EG in January because the shareholders asked me to develop appropriate governance for a business of this scale and Alison’s appointment further underscores the group’s commitment to establish a best-in-class governance model.”

The Jersey-registered EG Group is owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, billionaire businessmen from Blackburn, Lancashire, and TDR Capital, the private equity firm.

They have recently completed their £6.8 billion acquisition of Asda from Walmart, the American retail group.

The owners have financed the deal with a sale and leaseback of Asda’s warehouses, a record junk bond and the £750 million sale of Asda’s petrol business to their own EG forecourt empire.

The debt-fuelled takeover of Britain’s third largest supermarket chain has increased scrutiny of the brothers and EG, which has until recently had no independent board members, The Times report added.

In October, Deloitte resigned as EG’s auditor because of governance concerns and a lack of internal controls. It was replaced by KPMG.

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less