All Forecourt Trader articles in February 2016 – Page 5
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News
Licence appeal wins costs
A forecourt retailer has won an extension to his alcohol licence and, unusually, a substantial contribution to his costs from the council, after he appealed against its refusal. Solicitors Winckworth Sherwood represented Mohan Samy, owner of Tudor Lodge Service Station, Middlesbrough, in an appeal against a decision by Middlesbrough ...
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News
Eight arrested over £3m fuel fraud
Men from Merseyside and Manchester have been arrested and 55,000 litres of fuel seized, as part of an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into a suspected fuel smuggling fraud worth an estimated £3m in evaded tax. HMRC officers searched one business and four domestic addresses in Knowsley, Liverpool, ...
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News
Car sales highest in January for 11 years
New car registrations in January in the UK climbed 2.9% compared with the same month in 2015, and were the highest in January for 11 years at 169,678 units. Private and business buyers drove this growth with demand for new cars up by 8.2% to 73,061 and 5.0% to 6,716 ...
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News
Service station provides village post office
A Yorkshire village post office has transferred to the local service station after the existing postmaster retired. Richard Horseman ran the post office in Strensall village near York for 28 years and when he announced his retirement, retailers Maggie and Pete Wilson stepped forward to save the service. The new ...
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News
Topaz Energy takeover completed
The takeover of Ireland’s largest convenience and fuel retailer, Topaz Energy Group, by the Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard has been completed. The companies announced the completion after the EU Commission ratified the deal, which was agreed in early December. Niall Anderton, formerly chief financial officer (CFO) of Topaz, ...
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News
Government presses on with Sunday Trading change
The government has confirmed that it intends to press ahead with devolution of Sunday trading, despite widespread opposition from MPs on both sides of the House. During the second reading debate of the Enterprise Bill, business minister Sajid Javid announced that plans to deregulate Sunday Trading hours will be added ...
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NewsFuel price plunge bottoming out
Plummeting fuel prices may have bottomed out, according to the RAC, because oil prices have staged a recovery. Since oil reached a 12-year low of $26 a barrel on Wednesday 20 January the price has rebounded, finishing the month at $33.12, only $3 below where it started the month at ...
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News
Certas Energy company owned sites join BOSS
Certas Energy has joined the forecourt security association BOSS (British Oil Security Syndicate), by installing the BOSS Payment Watch debt recovery system across its portfolio of 24 company-owned sites in Scotland. The introduction of the BOSS Payment Watch debt recovery service across its sites is expected to result in thousands ...
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News
Welcome Break adopts National Living Wage
Motorway service operator Welcome Break has announced it will pay the National Living Wage to all its employees across the UK from April 1. The National Living Wage will be the minimum starting rate for all of the company’s 5,000-plus employees across its 27 sites, irrespective of age. Currently 2,095 ...
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News
£20m funding for driverless car research
Eight new projects developing driverless car technology have been awarded £20m in government funding. The projects are the first to be funded from the government’s £100m Intelligent Mobility Fund. They range from developing autonomous shuttles to carry visually-impaired passengers using advanced sensors and control systems, to new simulation trials for ...
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Analysis
Shop Talk - Tracy West
Our esteemed editor Merril Boulton loves a Sherbet Lemon and Bassett’s are her favourite, so she was delighted with the news that brand owner Mondelez is promoting ’adult candy’ via a major relaunch. She’s hoping her favourites will then be more widely available. Whenever I see them in a shop, ...
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News
Tearing and sharing
Walkers is launching a ’first’ for the sharing segment with Tear ’n’ Share bags of thick-cut crisps where the bag turns into a bowl.Thomas Barkholt, marketing director at PepsiCo, commented: "We know that the sharing segment is in growth with 86% of households buying sharing packs at least once a ...
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News
New wave of snacks
Kettle Bites are new snacks, which are said to offer all the taste and quality that consumers expect from Kettle products but with fewer calories and less fat. The range comprises Lentil Curls in Sweet Chilli and Mozzarella & Pesto varieties as well as Wholegrain Waves in Maple Barbecue and ...
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News
Mayday, Mayday
Last year was a momentous one for the tobacco retail trade as all stores went ’dark’ and products were hidden away behind closed doors. This year we are expecting the implementation of the European Union Tobacco Products Directive II (EUTPD II) and with it more draconian changes, not least of ...
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News
Last year saw seismic shift in site ownership
The forecourt sector in 2015 saw the conclusion of a seismic shift in ownership that has seen oil companies divesting assets and tying purchasing independents into supply agreements, according to Steve Rodell, managing director of the retail division of property specialist Christie & Co.In the company’s latest business outlook, ’The ...
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News
Mondelez shakes up sugar with its new megabrand
The Maynards and Bassetts brand names are joining forces in a bid to reinvigorate the adult sugar confectionery category. As a result, the entire range will come under the Maynards Bassetts name, with a total packaging redesign.A new product marks the change: Bertie’s Jelly Mix, which celebrates the fun and ...
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News
Wilcomatic helps Waitrose with washes
Wilcomatic is helping Waitrose make using its car washes easier for its customers to use, with the installation of new bar code scanners at two of the supermarket’s sites.Working closely with the chain, Wilcomatic discovered that Waitrose staff had customers saying that the wash code was not being accepted, which ...
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News
Graze makes its move into independents
Since the brand’s launch into retail last summer, Graze has sold three million snacks in stores, even outselling three leading confectionery brands in WH Smith Travel branches. And the good news is that distribution has been widened meaning the healthier, portion-controlled sweet and savoury snacks are now available in 4,000 ...
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News
Raise your glasses
Hundreds of new brewers and dozens of distillers have come into the market over the past five years and major producers have responded by placing increased focus on premium brands that add value.IRI figures show that BWS sales in Christmas week in 2015 were up 11.5% on 2014 with spirits, ...