RoadChef, the third largest motorway services area operator in the UK, has awarded Key Lekkerland a multi-million pound contract for the next three years to supply its retail outlets and forecourt sites.

The wholesaler will start supplying RoadChef from June 7 and the contract includes all core impulse categories, as well as specialist lines such as Thorntons chocolates.

All four Key Lekkerland group members will supply 52 RoadChef sites, which operate from 21 locations, including the so-called ‘service area of the future’ at Norton Canes on the M6 Toll road.

RoadChef’s network extends from the M8 in Lanarkshire, Scotland to Taunton Deane on the M5, and across to Maidstone on the M20. It is estimated that more than 100 million motorists visit RoadChef forecourts every year.

Alan Symonds, ceo and chairman of Key Lekkerland, said: “RoadChef is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic operators in the market place. Winning their business is a real feather in the cap for Key Lekkerland, underlining our position as the only credible independent delivered wholesaler capable of supplying major national accounts.”

Rupert Morris, director of purchasing at RoadChef, added: “The Key Lekkerland team has put together an extremely powerful package, which we are confident will exceed our customers’ expectations of RoadChef and enable us to drive our business forward.”