Issas take loans from business empire to pay for private jets

THE Issa brothers borrowed an extra $7m (£5.6m) from their petrol station business to help repay loans for their private jets, new filings reveal.

The latest revelations come amid growing scrutiny of the billionaire Asda owners’ sprawling corporate empire, which has been burdened by billions of pounds in debt and governance issues.

Documents show that EG Group made loans to two companies that own the brothers’ Bombardier Global 6000 and Bombardier Challenger 350 jets.

This includes a $2m loan that was advanced to the Clear Sky business in 2022, as well as a further $5m transferred to Clear Sky 2. They come on top of the €39m (£33m) unsecured loans originally used to help buy the planes.

The new loans, which were first reported by the Financial Times, were provided to help with interest payments on the earlier debt. They are set to be repaid later this year.

An EG Group spokesman said: “These loans have been provided at rates comparable to the average commercial rate of interest. The interest has been identified and recognised within EG Group’s finance income.”

It comes amid questions over the complex structure of the Issa brothers’ businesses, with politicians also raising questions over debt levels in its consumer-facing companies.

Asda’s debt pile currently stands at around £4.2bn, while EG Group last year said a deal to sell its UK forecourts to Asda meant its net debt would fall to $5.7bn.

MPS on the business and trade select committee have raised specific concerns over the pair’s private jet loans.

Last year, Labour’s Darren Jones, then chair of the committee, asked whether EG Group’s partner TDR Capital and its bondholders were aware of the arrangements and whether interest was added to the loans at a later date.

Mohsin Issa, who owns the businesses with his brother Zuber, responded in a letter to say that EG Group had publicly disclosed the loans.