All Analysis articles – Page 4
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Analysis
Who foots the Bill?
The government’s vision for the future of the road travel, which was outlined in the Queen’s Speech, contained both reassurance and potential threats for the forecourt sector. The good news is that the government is clearly confident about the future of the forecourt sector, as it features in a pivotal ...
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Analysis
Safety first
The terrorist attacks at the Manchester Arena and on London Bridge mean security is top of the agenda for many companies, and an incident in Manchester demonstrates why the forecourt sector needs to be vigilant. A Texaco petrol station in the city found itself on the front line in the ...
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Analysis
Back to the future
This time last year we were coming to the end of a major restructuring of the industry, as private equity funding was driving the big dealer groups to acquire a large number of sites being sold off by the oil companies. This activity has slowed down over the past year ...
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Analysis
Clearing the air
After hordes of headlines suggesting owners of diesel cars were about to be clobbered with huge pollution charges, there were fears that the surge in demand for diesel would suddenly shudder into reverse, but new proposals from the government have eased some of the anxiety at least temporarily.The government ...
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Analysis
Diesel dilemma
Diesel has grown to dominate the road fuels market in the UK, driven by government tax incentives for car drivers. In 2001, with the government seeking to reduce CO2 emissions, the greater efficiency of diesel engines compared with petrol made it the obvious choice, and tax rates were adjusted accordingly.The ...
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Analysis
Building growth
The seemingly inexorable rise in the number of sites run by the Top 50 Indies continued last year, but the increase of 99 to 2,222 is much lower than the 300-plus increases of the two previous years.However, the primary reason for the slower growth is that the mass sell-off of ...
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Analysis
Tapping into key trends
The internet has now been widely available for so long that many consumers have grown up with it, and as it continues to develop and affect more areas of everyone’s lives it is helping to shape trends in shopper behaviour in the convenience sector. HIM Research & Consulting has been ...
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Analysis
Investing in growth
Many dealers continued adding to their estates in 2016, driving up demand, and therefore the value of sites fuelling continued optimism and investment in the fuel retailing sector.Clive Sheppard, director of Top 50 Indie Chartman:"2017 promises to be our most exciting year yet. Ongoing investment by the forecourt industry ...
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Analysis
Risks of reform
A House of Lords Select Committee is currently interviewing witnesses as it considers making proposals to reform the licensing laws. Any recommendations will not be binding on the Government, but are likely to be persuasive, and could impact on petrol retailers.The Select Committee is considering a range of issues.A Public ...
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Analysis
Drive to boost hydrogen sites
The government is consulting on plans to force larger service stations, supermarket forecourts and motorway service areas (MSAs) to provide hydrogen refuelling facilities and charging points for electric vehicles. The measures are included in a consultation document for the Modern Transport Bill, which is due to be laid in Parliament ...
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Analysis
Rates rollercoaster
As this issue of Forecourt Trader went to press the Government had just published the headline figures on the results of its revaluation of business rates, and forecourt owners were waiting to see how their bills in April 2017 were likely to be affected. It reported that rateable values in ...
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Analysis
Feeding growth
Food-to-go in the UK offers significant opportunities for growth, according to the latest figures from IGD, which has unveiled new research into the market for the very first time. Driven by changing shopper lifestyles, IGD is anticipating the market to be worth £16.1bn in 2016, up by 6.8% from 2015.Within ...
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Analysis
The fight goes on
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has successfully appealed to the Upper Tribunal Chamber (UTC) against the decision in the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) that HMRC’s decision to refuse Brobot Petroleum an excise duty Deferment Account Number was unreasonable.However, Alan Powell, who represented Brobot at the FTT appeal, said that while ...
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Analysis
Under pressure
If the most important factor affecting the forecourt sector is fuel sales, then the 2016 Statistical Report from UKPIA (UK Petroleum Industry Association) contains a heartening message. Total road fuel sales looked to be in a permanent decline after year-on-year falls from their peak in 2007 to 2013, but the ...
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Analysis
Results of this month’s online poll:
With the latest diesel cars requiring Adblue every fifth or sixth visit to a petrol station, do you currently have plans to install the appropriate dispensers? yes 12%no 88% The relevance of this development has not yet made an impact, withthe majority of respondents having no plans to install new ...
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Analysis
Level pegging
As Forecourt Trader went to press the nationwide polls showed the two sides were neck and neck and it was too close for either side to be confident of winning the referendum on June 23. As the pressure has mounted supporters of each camp have become increasingly desperate to land ...
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Analysis
Delivering growth
The number of Londis and Budgens stores on independent forecourts is set to soar after Top 50 Indie Motor Fuel Group (MFG) signed a new shop supply agreement with Booker Retail Partners (BRP), commencing on July 1.Some 300 of MFG’s network of 374 stations will start to be supplied by ...
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Analysis
When staff are a liability
In the recent case of Mohamud v WM Morrison Supermarkets plc, the Supreme Court ruled that WM Morrison was vicariously liable, as an employer, for an unprovoked attack carried out by one of its forecourt staff on a customer. This case raises important points and considerations for all petrol filling ...
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Analysis
Top of the class
Despite a surge of more than 300 in the total number of sites run by the Top 50 in last year’s report, the independent sector’s appetite for growth showed no sign of slackening with an even greater increase over the most recent 12 months. After reaching 1,762 last year, the ...
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Analysis
Top 50 Indies own 25% of UK sites
The Top 50 Indies now account for almost 25% of the forecourts in the entire UK market, according to Forecourt Trader’s latest report on the biggest independent retailers.Editor Merril Boulton told an audience of more than 150 at the 2016 Top 50 Indies Dinner that between them they added 361 ...