FT - Hockenhull Garages, The Stage, Wigston, Leicester

EPOS specialist CBE is continuing to expand its already significant presence within the UK, according to retail director Oliver Sheridan.

He confirmed that during 2019 the company reached the milestone of 1,000 sites in the UK across the forecourt and convenience store sector, and despite the unforeseen onset of Covid-19, CBE is on target to achieve double-digit growth in the UK in 2020 as an ever-growing list of retailers invest in its FutaTill EPoS solution.

One notable installation was with Hockenhull Garages, which recently opened ‘The Stage’ Service Station in Wigston.

“CBE is thrilled to continue growing our partnership with the Hockenhulls. HGS is one of many groups within the UK retail sector that has moved to CBE over the last three years,” said Sheridan.

HGS managing director Joe Hockenhull, said: “As a company, we have been working with CBE for just over a year now, and the relationship we have with them is excellent. We installed CBE’s head office solution a year ago, and it has allowed us to operate our business more efficiently, enabling us to control our margins in all our stores from one location.

“Due to the current global pandemic, we have had to embrace new technologies that make the shopping experience safer for our customers. CBE has enabled us to use mobile payments, while the solution also allowed us to integrate with Uber Eats, an online food ordering and delivery platform.

“The support network that has been put in place for us as a company has been extremely helpful and beneficial; we have weekly meetings with our account manager to manage and discuss progress, while also receiving demonstrations on how to get the best out of the system.

“Overall, the turn-around time for calls logged to CBE’s support desk is excellent, especially in comparison to previous till and back-office systems we have worked with. If for some reason, we do not have the response we would hope for with the first line team; we have a clear escalation path within CBE.

“The support and installation teams in the UK are brilliant, we have had many installations in the last year, and all have been managed smoothly. CBE do as much as they can for us to ease the process, while always being contactable after the installations for any issues or queries we may have. The experience has been great so far, whether it is with support or installations. CBE is a fantastic company to work with, and we look forward to availing of the many innovations they have in the pipeline,”

Sheridan said the CBE was also expanding into the hospitality side of the business within the UK, and it has just commenced a rollout of 440 sites to be complete by the end of 2021 which will also see CBE expand into The Netherlands.

“This has enabled CBE to move into new state-of-the-art headquarters in Derby, and as well as doubling our UK workforce we have increased the numbers in our R&D department in Claremorris and now employ 160 highly skilled people within the UK & Ireland.”