Petrol station kings take pole position in Asda race

Despite the runaway success of EG Group, the Issas shun the limelight, rarely making media appearances.

They opened their first petrol station in 2001 in Bury. The business recently moved to new headquarters in Blackburn, resisting the temptation to relocate to London.

Zuber and Mohsin were born in a terraced house in the North West after their father moved to Britain to work in the textile industry.

Last year they were also given approval to build five identical mansions in Blackburn, just three miles from their childhood home. The brothers donate 2.5pc of their wealth to charity.

The Issa Foundation supports local hospitals and provides free breakfasts for school children in and around Blackburn.

The sale follows Asda’s aborted merger with Sainsbury’s. Competition regulators blocked the deal last year, embarrassing the likes of Sainsbury’s chief Mike Coupe, who had been caught on camera singing “we’re in the money” when the merger was first announced.

Walmart will retain a minority stake in Asda under the terms of the sale, which is expected to be completed later this year.

However, concerns remain that handing a controlling stake to a private equity firm could spark a major cost-cutting programme, and with it the prospect of a slew of redundancies and store closures.

Asda’s share of the grocery market has fluctuated under Walmart. It had a 14.3pc share in August, well behind Tesco’s 26.6pc while Sainsbury’s had 14.9pc.