THE ISSA brothers are reportedly prepared to sell dozens of petrol stations if that is what it takes to complete their Asda takeover.

The Blackburn-based entrepreneurs hope to keep hold of the forecourts, however according to industry magazine The Grocer, they are prepared to sell some of them if talks with regulators fail to allay concerns about their £6.8 billion acquisition of the supermarket chain.

This comes after the Competition and Markets Authority warned that could lead to higher petrol prices in some parts of the country and asked what Mohsin and Zuber Issa would be prepared to do to address this potential problem.

Speaking at the time of the announcement, CMA senior director of mergers Joel Bamford said: "Our job is to protect consumers by making sure there continues to be strong competition between petrol stations, which leads to lower prices at the pump.

"These are two key players in the market, and it’s important that we thoroughly analyse the deal to make sure that people don’t end up paying over the odds.

“Right now, we’re concerned the merger could lead to higher prices for motorists in certain parts of the UK.

"However, if the companies can provide a clear-cut solution to address our concerns, we won’t carry out an in-depth Phase Two investigation.”

This solution could potentially be found by the brothers selling off some of the company's forecourts in order to make room for more competition in the petrol market thus ensuring that prices are kept low.

The Grocer claims that a source close to the Issas said that they still hoped to persuade the CMA they should retain the forecourts concerned, stressing they operated “a very different model from Asda”.

However, the source said it “would not be the end of the world” for the brothers if they were forced to sell off the sites.

Representatives for Mohsin and Zuber Issa and their partners TDR Capital have said they do not wish to comment on the proposals.

The CMA will be making a follow up announcement next week on Wednesday May 5.