New owners of Wellington bomber factory, EG Group, poised to become billionaires

A pair of Lancashire brothers who are the new owners of the famous Wellington Bomber factory at Blackpool Airport, look set to end up among the richest men in Britain.
The former Vickers Wellington Bomber factory off Squires Gate LaneThe former Vickers Wellington Bomber factory off Squires Gate Lane
The former Vickers Wellington Bomber factory off Squires Gate Lane

Mohsin and Zuber Issa, 48 and 47, from Blackburn, own EG Group, which has bought the huge commercial property off Squires Gate in Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone.

The council had been marketing the site through agent Robert Pinkus but the EG Group has stepped in to take control of the industrial and warehousing buildings and has started to upgrade some of the units there.

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No detailed plans for their future use have been released by EG Group.

A Wellington BomberA Wellington Bomber
A Wellington Bomber

EG Group owns property and garage forecourts across the UK and recently established a major foothold in the USA after a deal to buy Cumberland Farms’ 600 convenience retail stores and fuel stations across eight states.

EG started out as Eurogarages and the brothers found success in adding shops and cafes to existing filling stations. Now the privately owned group is rumoured to be set to go public and float on the stock market, netting Mohsin and Zuber a reported £5bn.

The company, which has around 4,700 sites, is said to be currently valued at £10bn. The brothers, who were born in a terrace house in Blackburn, together own half after founding in 2001 with their first forecourt in Bury. They quickly acquired more sites right across Lancashire and beyond.

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News agency Bloomberg has reported that the group is in talks with banks about a potential initial public offering, which could take place in late 2020.

The huge site at Squires Gate is split into six main units with many existing tenants but had been earmarked as one of the potential large development sites for the enterprise zone.

It was built after 1939 by Lord Beaverbrook’s Ministry of Aircraft Production.

It was occupied by The Vickers company which built more than 3,800 twin engined Wellington Bombers on the site between 1941 and 1945.

Around 10,000 people were employed there. After the war the firm for a while built aluminium houses to cope with a housing shortage.