Blackburn-based petrol station, restaurant and convenience store giant EG Group has announced plans to create more than 32,000 jobs globally over a five-year period — driven by a sustained investment in its foodservice business.
Thursday’s announcement follows the publication of EG Group’s unaudited FY21 results in March, when the group reported a 16.3% increase in adjusted EBITDA to $1.45 billion, primarily driven by performance in foodservice and the further easing of Covid-19 restrictions in many territories.
EG said it has increased the average hourly pay to £10.05 for its UK staff, including those at its Leon restaurant chain.
“In the UK, the group will deliver many of these jobs from rolling out its proprietary brands ‒ Cooplands, the nation’s second-biggest bakery chain, and Leon, the ‘naturally fast food’ brand ‒ across its forecourt network, new-to-industry (NTI) sites, and EG foodservice concessions at Asda locations,” said EG.
“It will also create a large number of new jobs by accelerating openings for its existing third-party brand partners, notably Starbucks and KFC, including drive-thrus on the group’s UK forecourts and on Asda carparks ‒ with these foodservice outlets operated by EG and its colleagues.
“The group plans to add about 22,700 UK jobs between January 2022 and December 2026, including new roles, both highly skilled and entry level, at its head office in Blackburn, where it currently employs about 900.
“Approximately 9,700 new jobs will also come from organic growth in EG’s nine additional markets: Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Australia and the United States of America over the same five-year period.”
Following its acquisition of Leon in May 2021, EG purchased Cooplands in October and has now unveiled a new growth strategy for the Scarborough-based bakery chain.
Cooplands plans to open 30 outlets a year through 2026, including cafés inside NTIs and convenience stores on EG forecourt sites.
The group has also committed to rolling out at least 50 Leon restaurants a year through 2026, primarily in the UK, alongside 10 further openings in the Netherlands, ahead of a wider European expansion.
Mohsin Issa and Zuber Issa, co-founders and co-CEOs of EG Group, said: “As EG continues to go from strength to strength, we will be creating a large number of new jobs over the coming years, particularly in our successful foodservice business ‒ which remains a significant growth opportunity globally.
“We are proud to be a business founded in Britain that invests in job creation worldwide, while focusing heavily on the training and development of colleagues.
“EG has a strong track record of providing colleagues with long-term opportunities to progress their career at all levels ‒ and we are passionate about continuing this.”