London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 07, 2025

Abu Dhabi state oil giant weighs £5bn bid for Motor Fuel Group

Abu Dhabi state oil giant weighs £5bn bid for Motor Fuel Group

The Gulf state's national oil company is lining up bankers from JP Morgan to advise on a possible offer for Britain's biggest independent petrol station operator, Sky News learns.
One of the world's biggest oil producers is contemplating a multibillion pound takeover bid for Motor Fuel Group (MFG), Britain’s biggest independent petrol station operator.

Sky News has learnt that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is lining up bankers to work on a potential offer for MFG, which has been put up for sale with a price tag of about £5bn.

City sources said on Friday that ADNOC, which is among the 20 biggest oil companies in the world, had yet to make a firm decision about whether to bid ahead of an initial deadline next week.

However, it is preparing to hire JP Morgan, the Wall Street investment bank, to advise it on its interest in the UK company, they said.

ADNOC would be a significant player in a bidding war for a company that has rapidly grown is estate and profitability, and is now seeking to harness the automotive industry's efforts to embrace the transition to cleaner energy.

MFG has committed to spending £50m this year on installing hundreds of electric vehicle charging points across its roughly-900 sites, and believes it can play a leading role in that shift during the coming years.

A bid from ADNOC would represent one of the biggest single investments by a company from the Gulf state in a British business, and follows the signing of a £10bn sovereign investment partnership between the UK and UAE last year.

Technology, energy transition, infrastructure and life sciences were identified as the principal focuses for the partnership between the Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala and the UK's Office for Investment.

ADNOC produces roughly 3m barrels of oil each day, as well as 10.5bn cubic feet of gas, placing it among the world's largest producers of the two energy sources.

If it does bid for MFG, it will probably be pitted against Fortress Investment Group and Macquarie, the Australian financial services behemoth which recently bought Roadchef, the motorway services operator, for about £1bn.

People close to the process cautioned, however, that a sale was not certain to go ahead, given difficult financing markets.

Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) will only proceed with a sale if it can secure an attractive valuation, they added.

MFG has grown through a series of acquisitions to become the largest independent player in the sector, behind BP and Shell.

A merger of its assets with Morrisons' petrol stations was mooted by City analysts at the time of the supermarket chain's takeover by CD&R, but the prospect of that transaction receded after a £750m deal for EG Group to buy Asda's forecourts was abandoned in October.

Asda and EG Group are both controlled by TDR Capital and the lagger's founders, Mohsin and Zuber Issa.

CD&R has owned MFG since 2015, and has now picked a quartet of banks to oversee the company's sale.

Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada will work jointly on the process, with a stock market listing considered to be far less likely.

The company has grown substantially since CD&R bought it in 2015 from Patron Capital Partners in a deal worth about £500m.

Three years later, it paid £1.2bn to add MRH, the market leader, creating a group operating under fuel brands such as BP, Esso, Shell and Texaco.

Profits are understood to have risen about tenfold since CD&R's original acquisition of MFG.

Like rivals, it has invested heavily in its convenience retailing proposition, featuring the likes of Costa Coffee, Greggs and Subway at many of its sites.

EG is undertaking a review of its strategic options and has been linked with a merger with Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard, while Rontec, the group controlled by the entrepreneur Gerald Ronson, has also been periodically linked with a sale.

MFG is run by William Bannister, who acquired the business in 2011 through a management buy-in, while it is chaired by Alasdair Locke, a serial entrepreneur in the energy industry.

Both men would be in line for substantial windfalls from a £5bn sale.

ADNOC could not be reached for comment on Friday, while JP Morgan and CD&R both declined to comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
×