The billionaire British co-owners of Asda supermarket utilised additional funds from their petrol station enterprise to settle debts accrued from the purchase of two private jets.
EG Group extended a loan of $7 million to Mohsin and Zuber Issa's personal jet companies in 2022, as revealed in filings. This sum supplements the €39 million in unsecured loans previously granted by EG Group for the acquisition of the aircraft in 2018. Specifically, $5 million was allocated to the company overseeing the ownership of a Bombardier Global 6000, while the remaining $2 million was directed to the company managing a smaller Bombardier Challenger 350.
Starting from scratch, the Issas, alongside private equity group TDR Capital, have established a retail empire, comprising EG and Asda. Leveraging debt-fuelled acquisitions, EG expanded to encompass over 6,000 petrol stations across the US, Europe, and Australia. In 2020, the Issas and TDR executed the acquisition of Asda in a £6.8 billion deal, marking the UK's largest leveraged buyout in a decade.
Despite injecting a mere £100 million in cash to secure Asda, the brothers have encountered heightened scrutiny regarding their acquisitions and corporate finances. Mohsin's appearance before the parliamentary business and trade committee in July prompted criticism from Chair Darren Jones, who questioned the integrity of their business practices.
Notably, the £7 million loan extended in 2022 nearly covered the interest repayments received by EG from the Issas' jet companies, registered in the Isle of Man. However, EG clarified that these funds were utilised to service debt obligations to third parties, as previously disclosed in their accounts.