All Forecourt Trader articles in December 2011
View all stories from this issue.
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News
Euro Garages appoints finance director
Euro Garages, current Forecourt Trader of the year and one of the UK’s largest operators of petrol forecourts and convenience stores, has appointed James Thornton as finance director.James, who originally qualified with accountancy firm PwC, was previously FD at Blackburn-based Cloverleaf Restaurants Ltd, which was acquired by listed pub ...
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News
Tobacco display ban guidance published
Guidance on how retailers should comply with the new tobacco display ban regulations in England, which come into force on April 6, 2012 for stores above 280 sqm, has been published by the Department of Health. ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “ACS has worked closely with government officials to ...
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News
Rural fuel duty relief scheme launched
Fuel retailers can now register for the rural fuel duty rebate pilot scheme, following confirmation of the legislation in Parliament. The pilot was given the go-ahead last month by the European Union, to start in March 2012. It allows for a 5ppl tax discount to apply on fuel sold in ...
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News
Lord Steel demands French-style motorway petrol price displays
Former Liberal leader Lord Steel of Aikwood has called for Britain to follow the French and display the price their competitors charge for petrol, in a question to the House of Lords about fuel prices at motorway service stations. He said motorway prices were about 10ppl higher than elsewhere ...
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News
Drive-off teenager dies in police chase
A teenager who allegedly drove off without paying for his fuel was subsequently killed as police gave chase. Police were called after the driver of a purple VW Golf drove off without paying from a BP forecourt in St Leonards, Dorset at 10pm on Saturday night (Dec 17). Two officers ...
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News
Forecourt flasher caught
A forecourt flasher who was caught running naked from a petrol station after terrifying a woman driver, has pleaded guilty to five offences.According to the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, businessman Shaun Lovesey, aged 46, admitted repeatedly exposing himself to women at Tesco Mereway petrol station last October and November.He was ...
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News
Government outlines plans for councils to retain Business Rates income
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles has today confirmed Government plans to introduce a new income retention scheme for local authorities which promote business growth in their areas from April 2013. As it stands income from national non-domestic rates is collected by local authorities and ...
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NewsPolice arrest Esso armed robbers
Police have arrested three men after CCTV images were released of an armed robbery that took place at an Esso garage in Portland, Dorset on December 12. The CCTV images show four men who allegedly threatened a male member of staff using a knife, an axe and a baseball ...
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News
HMRC officers shut forecourt selling illicit fuel
A forecourt in the Magherafelt area of Co Londonderry selling illicit fuel has been closed down by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Officers raided the site and tested samples of the fuel from the diesel tanks. As a result, a 17,000-litre fuel tank and the forecourt pumps were seized, along with 2,300 litres of contaminated fuel.John Whiting, assistant director, criminal investigation, HMRC, said: “Selling illicit fuel seriously undercuts legitimate traders who should be able to operate without the threat of unfair competition. The production of illicit fuel can cause considerable damage to the environment and there is also potential for serious damage to vehicle engines.”This case follows one in late November when almost 18,000 litres of suspected illicit fuel were seized by HMRC as part of ongoing activity to tackle the illegal fuel trade in the UK.HMRC officers working with Central Motorway Police and officers from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) stopped a Northern Irish registered lorry during a roadside operation on the M6 in Birmingham.When they searched the 40ft lorry, which was declared as carrying bread, they uncovered 18 fuel containers. Each container, capable of holding 1,000 litres of fuel, was concealed inside a cardboard box in an attempt to evade detection.Graeme Anderson, assistant director, specialist investigation, HMRC, said: “Fuel transported in this way potentially poses an enormous risk to the safety of the public. Large quantities of fuel would be transported in tankers, designed to carry it safely. The fact that 18,000 litres of fuel were transported in the back of a lorry, shows a total disregard for other road users.”Anyone with information about this type of activity is encouraged to contact the Custom’s Hotline on 0800 59 5000.
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News
Leeds dealer wins industry safety award
Faisal Rana of Leeds-based United Petroleum UK won £1,000 at the Xmo Strata Forecourt Safety Awards. Faisal won the award for providing a constant improvement in health and safety on forecourts. The judges lavished praise on the comprehensive package of ideas, systems, processes and thoughts which went into a programme ...
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NewsMinister sure of ’no site closures’ as new vapour recovery legislation in force from January 1
The new Fuel Vapour Recovery Stage II EU directive is set to come into force on January 1, 2012, following consultation with local authorities and industry bodies, in particular RMI Petrol. Environment minister John Taylor confirmed that the new requirements would apply to all but the smallest new petrol stations ...
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News
UK fuel card company Allstar sold to Fleetcor
Arval UK has announced the sale of AllStar Business Solutions Ltd (AllStar) to FleetCor Technologies, Inc (FleetCor), a leading independent global fleet card provider, for £194m. AllStar is the UK fuel card business subsidiary of Arval, a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas. In addition to providing FleetCor with ...
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News
KSC buys Top 50 Indie Bishop Retail
Top 50 Indie Bishop Retail has been sold to to KSC Worldwide Ltd, following completion of a deal with the Stamford Group. The sale will see KSC take ownership of the nine sites in the North East of England trading under the Harvest Energy and Mace brands. Bishop Retail, which ...
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News
Supermarket promotions fail to lure shoppers
Shopper spend stalled in November despite supermarkets’ continuing lure of price cuts, money-off vouchers, fuel discounts and still further use of promotions, according to the latest retailer performance figures released by Nielsen. The figures show that the proportion of goods on promotional offer in UK supermarkets is back up to ...
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News
Student gets community service for drive-offs
A 23-year-old student from the West Midlands has been ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service after he was found guilty of a series of drive-offs. Umair Khan from Bordesley admitted filling up cars at forecourts in Acocks Green, Small Heath and Shirley earlier this year – then ...
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News
ACS welcomes Cable’s commitment on Regulatory Enforcement
Local shops have welcomed plans to change the way that businesses experience ‘frontline enforcement’, set out by Business Secretary Vince Cable. Plans include:A review of all regulators, to consider whether they are necessary and working efficiently.Changes to the ‘Primary Authority’ scheme to allow more organisations to participate, benefiting small business ...
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News
Urgent call for retailer evidence to meet OFT’s December 20 deadline
Independent retailers are being urged to give evidence to an Office of Fair Trading investigation into the acquisition by Shell of 253 former Total sites from Rontec. Retailers have until December 20 to provide details of sites that may be affected in the same or adjacent post code as the ...
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News
Superstar sites
The Northern Ireland and Northern England categories were hotly contested in the Forecourt Trader Awards. Amy Lanning catches up with the winners.
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News
UKPIA looks at future of refining and downstream
UKPIA has published a new study looking at the future role of the refining and downstream industry. The study comes at a time when the refining sector faces severe pressures on a number of fronts – the response to which could be critical in shaping its future direction and its ...
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News
BOSS pioneers project to tackle rural forecourt crime
BOSS has launched a pioneering project with Strathclyde Police to help fuel retailers in rural communities tackle crime on their forecourts. Strathclyde Police and BOSS are building on an existing partnership to develop closer ties between police and out-of-town fuel retailers around Dunoon, Cowal and Oban. The rural scheme was ...