THE owners of Blackburn's Euro Garages have announced a new £960million deal to expand their petrol station forecourt empire into a new continent.

Brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa will now see their reach extend to Australia, after confirming a A$1.725billion move to acquire 540 sites operated by Woolworths Petrol there.

Last year alone Woolworths, which employs 4,000 people, boasted sales of more than £2.5billion and sold 3.6billion litres of fuel.

The latest announcement continues the Guide outfit's rapid expansion programme throughout 2018, potentially leaving them with 5,250 outlets worldwide.

Last month the company told the Stock Exchange it had sealed the transfer of Esso's German forecourt operations

In September Euro Garages also revealed it had acquired 225 Minit Mart stores and petrol stations across the American Mid West, for £238million.

This followed hot on the heels of the purchase of 762 locations from another US rival, Kroger, bringing their footprint to more than 1,000 places Stateside.

The family-run multinational struck a multi-million pound deal to take control of 97 Esso stations in the Netherlands. They now have more than 2,600 sites in Europe.

Mohin Issa said: "For the past 17 years, we have had a vision of becoming a leading petrol station and convenience store operator around the world. This is another exciting international milestone on our growth journey.

"We are the leading independent petrol forecourt retailer in Europe and are having great success in the US.

"The Woolworths' assets present a fantastic opportunity to further grow our international footprint and deliver our best-in-class retail experience in a new geography."

The deal is still subject to approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Board . If this is secured then the switch should be completed early next year.

Construction is already underway on their new four-storey headquarters, overlooking Fishmoor Reservoir at Guide, yards from their current offices.

But they raised the ire of Blackburn with Darwen Council as they only have planning permission for a three-storey building.