This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Withers and Barlow families, who established the first 7-Eleven store in Australia in 1977, have sold their local ownership of the convenience and petrol retailer to Japan’s Seven & I Holdings in a $1.71 billion deal.
7-Eleven owns 752 stores nationally.
Seven & I Holdings holds the 7-Eleven global licence and already collects licence fees from the Australian business. It will take over the entire business down under from Wednesday.
ASIC accounts show revenue across the local network increased 5.5% year-on-year to $5.32 billion.
In FY23, the business undertook opened 41 new stores, closed 14, and refurbished 76. Around three-quarters of the network offers fuel, while the remainder are standalone convenience stores.
The related Withers and Barlow families have an estimated net worth of $2.08 billion, according to the Australian Financial Review’s Rich List. They took on the 7-Eleven licence in 1976, and opened the first store in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh a year later.
In a statement, Russell Withers, the former chairman of 7-Eleven Australia said, “The Withers and Barlow families have had a proud association with the 7-Eleven brand since we brought it to Australia in 1977”.
“From a single store in suburban Melbourne, 7-Eleven has grown to a network of over 750 stores across Victoria, NSW, ACT, Queensland and Western Australia, processing 250 million transactions each year, and employing more than 9,000 people across the corporate and franchise network.”
“Now is the right time for our families to pass the business to new owners to continue to build and develop this wonderful brand.”
The new owners plan to open 35 stores each year.
The Australian 7-Eleven business were advised in the transaction by Azure Capital and Ashurst.
7-Eleven reaped $78 million from the sale of 15 service stations in a portfolio auction in 2019.
