All Forecourt Trader articles in December 2013
View all stories from this issue.
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News
Krisco Seyon reopens Keith Mowbray’s Maypole site
Keith Mowbray, a well-known figure in the forecourt industry whose Maypole Service Station on the outskirts of Birmingham has been in mothballs for five years, has found a company to rejuvenate it. He has leased it to Top 50 Indie Krisco Seyon, which has spent £250,000 refurbishing the site and ...
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NewsPRA wins business rates concession
Petrol filling stations will be included in a business rates discount after intervention by the PRA. In the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on December 5 he announced a £1,000 discount for small businesses with premises with a rateable value of under £50,000. However, when PRA asked The Treasury and Department for ...
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News
Car makers breaking European rules says IGA
A new study by BOVAG, the Independent Garage Association’s (IGA) European counterpart, has found that only six of 13 manufacturer websites examined allowed the researchers to successfully establish a connection between a vehicle and the manufacturer’s website. Since 2010 it has been a legal requirement that vehicle manufacturers release all ...
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News
Thieves break into service station
Derbyshire police are appealing for information after a service station in Glossop was broken into and cigarettes were stolen. At around 2am on Thursday, 12 December offenders gained entry into the Brookfield service station. The thieves forced their way through the metal shutter and glass door before stealing cigarettes and ...
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News
Workspace opened at M25 services
One year on from the launch of its workspaces at UK motorway service stations, Regus has announced the opening of a second ‘Regus Express’ on the M25. The business centre has opened at Roadchef’s Clacket Lane motorway services in Kent, offering co-working space, ThinkPods (private workstations), meeting rooms and business ...
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News
UK car production set to top 1.5 million in 2013
UK car makers are set to exceed production of 1.5 million cars for the first year since 2007. New figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that production rose 4.5% in first 11 months of the year to 1,424,023 units. “With output up 4.5% in 2013 ...
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News
60,000 litres of smuggled alcohol seized
Around 60,000 litres of smuggled vodka and beer have been seized from two industrial units in Edmonton, north London, during a raid by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Officers found 30,000 litres of White Goose and Krakus vodka ready for distribution in one unit and also seized illicit wine. A ...
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News
NAB concerned over provisional insurance findings
The National Association of Bodyshops (NAB) has expressed concerns about the Competition Commission’s provisional findings on the private motor insurance market. The Competition Commission’s review has found that the private motor insurance market is not working well for motorists. While the NAB agrees with this sentiment there are concerns surrounding ...
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News
Cigarette smuggling fugitive jailed
A convicted cigarette smuggler who fled the country six years ago has been jailed. Paul James Wright from Liverpool smuggled more than three million cigarettes into the UK, and was wanted by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for evading over £500,000 in duty. He absconded after conviction and was believed ...
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News
Welcome Break partnership deal with Subway
The motorway service operator Welcome Break has announced a partnership deal with Subway, with two stores opened at service stations on 13th December. The first is at the Welcome Break Charnock Richard Services on the M6, the opening of which was attended by local MP Lindsay Hoyle. The second store ...
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News
EU agrees ban on smaller tobacco packs
The EU has agreed a revised tobacco directive intended to make tobacco products less attractive by strengthening the rules on how tobacco products can be manufactured, presented and sold. Measures to be brought into national law by member states include a ban on packs of 10 cigarettes and smaller pouches ...
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News
Jet adds five sites to Scottish network
Phillips 66 fuel brand Jet has announced that five new Scottish sites have joined its network of independent forecourts, taking its total number of sites throughout Scotland to 51. With these sites on board, Jet says it holds a 22% market share of the Scottish fuel market and has more ...
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News
Symonds pushes turnover to £41m
Top 50 Indie Symonds Forecourts Group has announced an increase in turnover in its annual results. Chief executive Jeremy Symonds said: “The forecourt and convenience market continues to be challenging, but also offers significant opportunities for those retailers able to both adapt and innovate. Sales growth of 9% increasing revenue ...
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NewsAsda "cuts" prices to October 30 level
Asda and Tesco have both claimed to have made cuts to their fuel prices today, although Asda’s petrol price is identical to the one it set on October 30 and diesel is 1ppl dearer. From today Asda’s national maximum petrol price is 126.7ppl, and on diesel it is 134.7ppl, compared ...
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NewsEuro Garages confirms spectacular 38% boost in profits
A boost in profits of nearly 40% has been confirmed by Forecourt Trader of the Year winner Euro Garages, which attributes its success to a combination of strategic site acquisitions and the ongoing success of brand partnerships with Starbucks, Subway and Greggs. Reporting results for the year to July 31, ...
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News
Warning over pack sizes in Tobacco Directive
Members of the European Parliament are being urged to support a lower limit on the size of packaging for roll-your-own tobacco as part of the Tobacco Products Directive. MEPs are currently debating whether to increase minimum sizes to 20g or 30g and Priti Patel MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary ...
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News
Armed robbery at Sainsbury’s filling station
A Sainsbury’s forecourt appears to have been the fourth victim of an armed robber preying on retailers in North Lincolnshire. The latest robbery occurred at 9.47 pm on Sunday 8 December at the Sainsbury’s Petrol Station on Doncaster Road, Scunthorpe. The man was wearing a ‘Chucky’ style mask, an Adidas ...
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News
Government consults on advanced fuel industry
A consultation on how to develop the advanced fuel industry in the UK has been launched by the government. Advanced fuels is a term used to describe a variety of carbon-cutting fuels including the next generation of biofuels, hydrogen, synthetic fuels made in high-tech facilities and methane harvested from effluent ...
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NewsMystery problem affecting diesel across UK
A mystery problem with diesel is causing a wave of breakdowns across the UK, according to the RAC. The issue is more prevalent in eastern parts of England and Scotland, with the greatest concentration of breakdowns occurring in the North East, and can arise from diesel purchased from any type ...
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News
7,800 litres of diesel stolen from forecourt
Police are appealing for information after more than £10,000 worth of diesel was stolen from a forecourt in Norfolk. Between 7am on Thursday 5 December and 7am on Wednesday 11 December 2013 approximately 7,800 litres of diesel were taken from a diesel tank at the Martin Service Station on the ...