Applegreen has confirmed its five sites in Northern Ireland will not be included in a deal to offload 98 filling stations to EG On The Move.
The deal, which is expected to close at the end of this month, will see just over 1,100 staff transfer to the Blackburn-based retail forecourt group.
EG On The Move was set up in 2023 by Zuber Issa as a separate standalone business to the EG retail group Mr Issa founded with his brother Mohsin.
The brothers are best known for their deal to acquire a majority stake of Asda with TDR Capital in 2021.
The deal came less than a year after they bought 146 KFC restaurants from Belfast couple Michael and Lesley Herbert in a major multi-million-pound deal.
Zuber Issa subsequently sold his stake in Asda in late 2024, shortly after announcing his intention to focus on growing his emerging EG On The Move business.
Applegreen’s five sites in Northern Ireland are part of its Welcome Break division, which is not affected by the sale.
Welcome Break’s portfolio includes 59 sites in the UK.
The five roadside sites employ around 270 people in the north.
Applegreen said it plans to use the proceeds from the EG On The Move sale to invest in its business across the island, Britain and the United States.
“We remain totally committed to our presence and further expansion in the UK market and have significant plans to expand both Welcome Break and our EV charging business there, as part of the €1 billion investment plan that we announced late last year,” said Applegreen co-founder and chief executive Joe Barrett.
“We are growing the Welcome Break business in the UK by developing new-build locations and revamping many of our existing sites.
“We have a strong pipeline of additional UK sites for development on locations adjacent to motorways and alongside a number of major A-roads,” he said.
The Applegreen chief said the group plans to continue the roll-out of partnership with Marks & Spencer and invest in expanding its Braeburn Coffee brand.
“There will also be further investment in new sites, and upgrades to existing locations,” he added.
Applegreen has already announced plans to invest €85m in its EV charging business over five years in Ireland, the UK and the US.
