EG Group owners launch bid for Caffe Nero: The billionaire brothers behind the British petrol retailing company EG Group have launched a daring takeover bid for Caffe Nero hours before the coffee shop chain seeks approval from landlords to slash its rent bill. Sky News has learnt that Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who have turned Lancashire-based EG into one of the UK’s biggest private companies, wrote to Caffe Nero during the weekend to propose buying the chain from its founder and controlling shareholder, Gerry Ford. Under the EG proposal, Caffe Nero’s landlords would be paid in full for the rent arrears owed to them as a result of the covid-19 crisis. People close to the situation said the option represented a significant improvement for the chain’s store owners over the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposal on which they are scheduled to vote later on Monday (30 November). It was unclear whether Caffe Nero had responded to the EG offer yet, or what the precise terms of the offer were. EG’s bid could force the coffee shop chain to postpone the CVA vote, insiders said. Under the CVA proposal, a number of its 650 Caffe Nero-branded sites could eventually close, although the focus of the plan is to switch to a turnover rent model. Lenders to Caffe Nero are expected to play a role in deciding the chain’s future. Mezzanine debt providers Alcentra and Partners Group have drafted in FTI Consulting to advise them, while banks are being advised by Deloitte. The CVA vote, which is scheduled to close on Monday evening. In September, the Issa brothers and their private equity backers, TDR Capital, secured an agreement with Walmart to buy Asda for £6.8bn.
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