Sir Terry Leahy, former Tesco chief executive, is set to join the board of independent forecourt operator Motor Fuel Group (MFG).

MFG has announced that its management team will be partnering with private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) - where Leahy is a senior advisor - to refinance the company at a value of £500m, ending the partnership with original investor Patron.

Jeremy Clarke, managing director of MFG said: “We are delighted that Sir Terry Leahy, former chief executive of Tesco and current chairman of B&M European Value Retail, will be joining the MFG board.”

The MFG management team, whose chairman is oil industry veteran Alasdair Locke, partnered with Patron in 2011 to acquire the MFG business.

Through a series of strategic acquisitions, Patron and MFG management have grown the company from 48 stations in 2011 to a current total of 373 stations operating under the BP, Shell, Texaco and Jet brands. In addition, MFG also operates a Murco-branded dealer network of more than 200 sites.

“We thank Patron for helping us to become one of the largest, most dynamic and profitable independent petrol and convenience retail operators in the UK and we are excited to be partnering with CD&R,” said Clarke.

“The firm’s reputation for operational excellence and deep consumer and retail experience will be especially useful as we move the business forward to the next stage of profitable growth.”