The Issa brothers' hopes of taking over Caffe Nero have been killed off by the coffee shop chain.
This comes after Caffè Nero completed a refinancing deal to cover debts of £330m, reports The Times.
Last April Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who started their EG Group business empire from a petrol station in Bury, acquired £160 million of Nero Holdings’ mezzanine debt.
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They used this to try and gain control of the coffee shop from Gerry Ford - who is the company's founder and chief executive.
The billionaire brothers launched a legal challenge to the agreement the company had to pay creditors back and continue trading.
But in September a High Court judge dismissed their case - rejecting their allegations of 'material irregularity and unfair prejudice'.
This is a rare setback for the Issa brothers, who in the last couple of years have acquired Asda, fast-food chain Leon, and the Cooplands bakery.
Their EG Group bought the mezzanine debt from Swiss investment firm Partners and then tried to buy the senior debt from the banks - and failed.
The coffee shop chain was founded in 1997 and has over 1,000 stories across ten countries - with the majority being in the UK.
Mr Ford, who remains the majority shareholder, has restarted his expansion of the business now trade is recovering to pre-pandemic levels - with four stores set to open next month.
The EG Group did not wish to comment when approached by Manchester Evening News.
