Asda will introduce HAIRDRESSERS and nail bars to stores after billionaire brothers’ £6.8bn takeover bid is completed
- Mohsin and Zuber Issa plan to revive Asda if their £6.8bn takeover goes ahead
- Food aisles could be cut by a quarter to introduce cafes, hair salons and nail bars
- The takeover bid is subject to an investigation by competitions watchdog CMA
Asda will introduce hairdressers and nail bars to stores after two billionaire brothers’ £6.8bn takeover of the supermarket giant is completed.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa, owners of Euro Garages, are looking to cut the amount of floorspace dedicated to food by a quarter once its purchase from US company Walmart goes through.
The brothers intend to replace food aisles with cafes, hair salons and nail bars, as part of a larger plan to keep people shopping for longer, according to The Sunday Times.
The Blackburn-born brothers, who have made a fortune by revamping petrol station forecourts, completed their purchase of Asda in February.
However, it now requires clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa completed the purchase of Asda from Walmart in February, but the takeover has to be investigated by the competitions watchdog before it can be formally put through
The competitions watchdog started investigating the deal last December, with an outcome expected by April 20.
The investigation does not include potential hairdresser businesses within the supermarket’s sites.
The children of immigrants who moved to Blackburn from Gujurat, India, in the 1970s, Mohsin and Zuber now have franchise agreements with brands including Starbucks, Subway and KFC.
The Blackburn-born siblings were recently locked in secret talks to buy Topshop before it became part of the Asos portfolio.
The Issa brothers’ estate includes a £25m Kensington townhouse and a private jet that is kept in a hangar at Blackpool Airport alongside Donald Trump’s personal helicopter.
They are also building five identical mansions just three miles from the £115,000 Blackburn two-up two-down where they were raised. Mohsin is expected to live there with his wife, Shamim with whom he shares two grown-up children.
The brothers have pledged to invest £1bn into revamping the supermarket giant, with food space set to be replaced with room for cafes, nail salons and hairdressers
Since the inquiry was launched, the Issa brothers and TDR have confirmed plans to sell Asda’s petrol forecourt business to its own EG Group for £750million.
The CMA will also consider the forecourt deal as part of its inquiries.
The Issa brothers say Asda will undergo a £1billion transformation, stating earlier this year: ‘Looking ahead, and subject to the required regulatory approvals, we look forward to working with our Asda colleagues to build an even stronger, more differentiated retailer – including through the investment of more than £1 billion in the next three years to further strengthen the business and its supply chain.
‘We are also excited about the proposed integration of the Asda forecourts into EG’s established UK operations, which we believe would underpin the future growth of the combined network.’