Marks & Spencer has called a halt to its pilot of a Simply Food franchise at Jonathan James' site in Ely, Cambridgeshire. BP announced it had picked Witchford Road Service Station, of James Graven & Son, for the trial at its Dealer Convention in Oman in November.
The first ever Motor Oil Industry Cricket Tournament was held at Lord's, the home of cricket on Monday, June 22. In perfect conditions, three teams from the oil, petrol and forecourt industry battled it out and competition was fierce. John Lewis, Forecourt Trader's executive director put on a star performance, but the team led by independent oil industry consultant, Keith Guppy, was triumphant on the day.
Gerald Ronson, the man who revolutionised the petrol retailing business in the '60s, has launched an autobiography entitled 'Leading from the Front - My Story. The founder and chief executive of Heron International, which operates the Snax 24 chain of service stations, is described as one of Britain's most successful businessmen, and one of the most hardworking and generous philanthropists in the UK.
Keeping the wheels of the UK economy turning while also meeting policies that aim to move the economy to a lower-carbon future remains a key challenge for the UK oil refining industry, said Janet Ashdown, president of the UK Petroleum Industry Association, as she launched the 2009 Statistical Review at the House of Commons last month.
Spar is relaunching its own-label brand as it steps up its focus on customers and growing store sales. Spar UK's marketing director Susan Darbyshire, told around 800 delegates at the recent Blakemore Spar Retail Conference at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole that the company would use its own brand to create a point of difference between Spar and its competitors.
Brobot Petroleum has confirmed Londis as its long-term retail partner. The northern-based family-owned business - which includes fuel distribution and 21 sites in the East Midlands and Yorkshire - is expecting to achieve in excess of £10 million sales a year as a result of the deal.
Pictured below is the new Shell Beaconsfield site on the M40 - which the oil company claims is the UK's biggest service station. With 36 forecourt pumps and six dedicated high-speed HGV pumps totalling 152 nozzles, the site in Buckinghamshire can serve several hundred customers an hour. It also has underground storage for 1.2m litres of fuel.
Soaring fuel prices kept forecourts in the headlines last month. The average price of petrol rose almost 4.98ppl between mid-May and mid-June, according to the latest AA Fuel Price Report, making it the second-highest monthly increase ever recorded - the rise was only two-thirds of a penny short of the 5.61ppl record at the same time last year.
GENERAL APPEARANCE: On the busy Hornsey Road, just a stone's throw away from Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, is my stealth check target - a Texaco filling station and shop. The Texaco-branded pole is fairly visible and boldly announces that the site offers a car wash, off licence and the National Lottery.
Most people remember 1966 as the year England last won the football World Cup. But those in the fuel industry (at least those with enough grey hair to have been around at the time) will associate it with another significant event.
