All Latest News articles – Page 312
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News
GB Oils rolls out new card payment terminals
GB Oils is aiming to strengthen its dealer support package with the roll-out of the HTEC GemPAY card payment terminal. It says it will enable dealers to process transactions up to 10 times faster while providing increased end-user security in line with the latest PCI DSS compliance legislation. GB Oils ...
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Police helicopter tracks drive-off car
A helicopter was involved in a police chase in Telford, Shropshire, linked to a crackdown on petrol thefts in the town. Sniffer dogs were also dispatched after two men drove from a forecourt with cans of stolen fuel. The police pursuit began after the men drove away from Sainsbury’s petrol ...
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New car sales growing strongly
New car sales figures have shown strong growth with month-on-month sales up 12.7% compared with July last year. Private registrations increased by 11.9%. Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), commented: “It is extremely encouraging that new car sales continued to improve in July with year-to-date growth now at 10.3%.” “Consumer confidence continues to grow with the British Retail Consortium reporting an increase in high street retail sales of 2.2% during July. “Dealers are reporting increased footfall in showrooms as consumers are drawn in by new products and services offered by dealers and manufacturers. With such strong manufacturer and finance offers currently available dealers are reporting that it is proving much easier to close a sale. However competitive pricing and strong incentives remain important if the sales trend is to continue throughout 2013.”
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FPB welcomes Bank of England guidance
The Forum of Private Business has welcomed Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s comments on the merits of forward guidance alongside the bank’s quarterly economic forecasts today. Chief executive Phil Orford said: “Today’s revised growth forecast by the Bank of England will act as a further boost to business confidence ...
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Global ATM provider buys Cardpoint
Global ATM company Cardtronics has acquired Cardpoint, which trades as ATM services provider Cashzone in the UK. In conjunction with the deal, Cardtronics is introducing a new corporate identity for its European operations, Cardtronics Europe, which will include Cashzone and Bank Machine, Cardtronics’ existing UK subsidiary. Cardtronics chief executive officer ...
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Three suspected cigarette smugglers arrested
Three men have been arrested in Peterborough on suspicion of smuggling an estimated 8.3 million cigarettes into the UK and evading about £1.5m in excise duty. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) criminal investigators, assisted by Cambridgeshire Police, arrested the men last Friday morning, 2 August, as the tobacco was being ...
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Former Costcutter boss advises KPMG
KPMG has hired Nick Ivel, the former group chief executive of Costcutter Supermarkets, as a consultant to advise the firm’s clients on their convenience store strategy. During Ivel’s 14-year tenure at Costcutter the annual turnover of the group increased from £198m to £650m. David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG ...
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Supermarket sales surge in heatwave
The July heatwave contributed to sales growth rates almost twice that achieved by the UK’s leading supermarkets during the London 2012 Games – one of last year’s peak sales periods – according to the latest retailer performance figures released by Nielsen. Aggregate sales value growth for the UK’s leading supermarkets ...
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Fuel thief sent to prison
A man has been sent to prison for 12 weeks following a drive-off in Northamptonshire last month. Noel Majores, 24, was one of two men convicted for fuel theft after they drove off without paying from the BP service station on the A43 near Brackley on Tuesday, July 9. Majores ...
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PRA welcomes plan to extend rural fuel rebate
The PRA has welcomed moves by the Treasury to extend the rural fuel rebate scheme. The Treasury has announced that it plans to seek permission from the European Commission to extend the scheme, which currently provides a 5 pence per litre (ppl) rebate to retailers in the Scilly Isles, the ...
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Water contamination strands Morrisons customers
A Morrisons supermarket in North Wales was forced to shut down one of its unleaded petrol pumps after fuel became contaminated with water and cars which had just been refuelled broke down on the forecourt. Around a dozen motorists were stranded at the Morrisons store in Ruthin Road, Wrexham, on ...
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First new generation Spar branded forecourt opens
The first of a new generation of Spar-branded forecourts in the UK has opened following the development of the concept by Spar and Harvest Energy. B & M Harland, in Pickering, North Yorkshire, which is owned by retailer Geoff Harland, features Spar branding on the canopy, pumps, poll sign and ...
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Manager critically injured in drive-off attack
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a forecourt manager was critically injured during a drive-off. A 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were arrested in Chatham in the early hours of this morning. Lekshmanan Asokkumar, who manages the Texaco garage in West Kingsdown, Kent, was ...
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Costcutter signs £35m refinancing deal
Costcutter Supermarkets Group has signed a £35m refinancing deal with Barclays. The group says the three-year term of the refinancing will support both business growth and the current transition period following the announcement in March that Costcutter Supermarkets Group has entered a strategic partnership with Palmer and Harvey for buy ...
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Rates revamp for Northern Ireland petrol stations
Forecourt businesses in Northern Ireland are being urged to submit forms needed for the revaluation of business rates in the province. Land & Property Services (LPS) is reminding business ratepayers in Northern Ireland that time is running out to submit a Form of Return as part of the non-domestic revaluation ...
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Number planning to use franchised dealers increases
The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) has welcomed a report showing the number of consumers planning to use a franchised dealer for servicing is increasing. The report, from motoring.co.uk, revealed that 50% of consumers over the last six months said they will used a franchised dealer for servicing, compared with ...
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Police CCTV van targets crime at Tesco forecourt
Police in Watford have been deploying a police CCTV van at a Tesco petrol station to deter drive-offs and detect other car crime, according to a report in the Watford Observer. The bright yellow police van has been left unmanned in the garage at Bushey for several hours a day, for more than a month, but local police refused to say why. However, staff from Tesco Express revealed that the van is there to stop motorists driving off without paying for petrol and to track motorists with false number plates and invalid tax or insurance. Deputy manager Karan Theyeagearasha said: “We’ve had loads of people come in here, fill up their tanks and drive off. It’s not a small amount of petrol either, we’re talking at least £70 a time. “Having the police presence acts as a deterrent, they’re preventing crime. If people drive in with false number plates, without insurance or valid tax, or even stolen cars they can capture them on their CCTV.” He said the visits were at random. Police would park on the forecourt, leave the van and patrol the high street. He added: “Since they’ve started doing it I’ve noticed fewer people are driving off without paying for their petrol.”
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Police hand mini cameras to vulnerable retailers
Retailers in Edinburgh who have been subjected to a series of hate crimes are to be given mini body cameras by police to capture images of their attackers. The scheme is being piloted in the north of Edinburgh, and will be rolled out to other areas if it is successful. ...
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BAT launches e-cigarette in UK
British American Tobacco (BAT) has become the first tobacco manufacturer to launch an e-cigarette in the UK. The e-cigarette is branded Vype and will be available for sale on-line with plans to move into mainstream retail outlets from September 2013. Vype uses a nicotine e-liquid that is made in the ...
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Armed robbery at Total garage in Derbyshire
Two men have robbed the Total petrol station in Mickleover, Derbyshire. At around 9.50pm on Thursday, July 25, two men entered the service station, in Etwall Road. One of the men was carrying a knife. One robber jumped over the counter while the other, the armed man, took a male ...