Morrisons is being sued over its £2.5bn deal to sell its petrol forecourts, with a subsidiary of French conglomerate Bouygues alleging a breach of contract by the supermarket.

Shortly following its January sale of 337 of its petrol forecourts to MFG, Morrisons ditched an EV charging agreement it had made in 2019 with Bouygues-owned Equans EV Solutions, which granted the firm exclusive rights to install chargers at 273 of its forecourts.

In response, the French company has now sought to block £2.5bn forecourts disposal as it sues Morrisons for alleged breach of contract, reported The Sunday Times.

MFG found the petrol court deal appealing partly because it offered the chance to install EV chargers at Morrisons forecourts. However, Equans believes it was hit unexpectedly by Morrisons’ sudden abandonment of their own deal.

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In a claim filed at the High Court, the Bouygues-owned firm accused the grocer’s decision as being “arbitrary, irrational and capricious”.

Equans is requesting the court to affirm its exclusivity rights over the sites and is also seeking damages from the supermarket.

However, the grocer is claiming that Equans had no valid contract existed between them and that Equans has repeatedly failed to meet target service levels for its chargers. It is arguing that these failures have caused major losses for Morrisons, which it expects the French firm to compensate.

The retailer added that it also worried that Equans, which was acquired by Bouygues for €6.1bn in 2022, was likely to soon become insolvent.

It is understood Morrisons will file its defence by the end of the month.