All Latest News articles – Page 321
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News
Symonds boosts service with forecourt attendant
Top 50 Indie Symonds Forecourts has introduced a forecourt attendant at its site in Wells, Somerset, to improve its service to motorists. Between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday the attendant fills cars with fuel, checks tyre pressures and cleans windscreens while customers pay in-store. The free service is being ...
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Minimum unit price for alcohol could boost illegal trade, says FWD
Proposals to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol will prevent supermarkets’ deep discounting but could also fuel the growing illegal trade in duty-avoided beers and wines, says the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD).While price controls would stop irresponsible promotions, FWD warns that the move would make the market more ...
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ACS urges ministers to reconsider alcohol licensing and pricing proposals
Ministers are being urged by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) to reconsider proposed changes to alcohol licensing and pricing rules that it believes will have a disproportionate burden on small shops.ACS chief executive James Lowman said: "In the past five years, we haveseen a reduction in alcohol consumption, increased ...
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MP promises changes as plight of local shops revealed
New research has revealed that seven out of ten shoppers (70%) believe that neighbourhood retailers and newsagents should be offered some degree of protection or special treatment from local councils and/or the Government to support them. The research was revealed in the Palmer and Harvey Shop Health report 2012, an ...
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BritainThinks: Local services crucial to keeping the community happy
A new report exploring the links between how happy people are with where they live and the shops and services in their area has been published today. The ’Local Services, Happy Places’ report, commissioned by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and conducted by research consultancy BritainThinks, proposes a host ...
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Convenience stores are focal point during the floods, says ACS
Convenience stores and village shops are open in the areas of the country affected by high winds and flooding overnight, according to the ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores), which has canvassed members and is reporting no significant problems with store closures or deliveries.ACS chief executive James Lowman said: ...
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Symonds Forecourts reports a solid performance
Forecourt Trader of the Year winner Symonds Forecourts has reported a very solid performance in its latest accounts.Turnover has increased to £35m – a year-on-year increase of 19%. After operating expenses and interest the company returned a net profit before tax of £197,370 – a year-on-year increase of 114%.Managing director ...
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Further blow for retailers as Government raises green energy levy
ACS has responded to the Government’s announcement ahead of the publication of the Energy Bill next week, urging energy regulator Ofgem to act swiftly to introduce protections for local shops.As part of the Energy Bill, the Government is to increase the Levy Control Framework budget from £2.35 billion to £7.6billion, ...
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Spar injects new lease of life into Threeways Garage
An Abergele petrol station is being given a new lease of life after forging a relationship with Spar. Threeways Garage, in Faenol Avenue, is set to convert its convenience store from Lifestyle to Spar at the end of the month.The Threeways site, which houses a 24-hour Shell forecourt and HGV ...
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Hammond unveils new proposals to tackle drink driving
A package of tough measures to crack down on drink drivers has been unveiled today by Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond.Included in the proposals are plans to remove the statutory right to a replacement blood or urine test where a breath test reading is above and close to the legal ...
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Convenience and fast food drives growth at Euro Garages
Growth in convenience retail and fast food sales boosted revenues at Euro Garages, one of the UK’s largest independent forecourt retailers, according to its latest annual trading update.Total sales for the Blackburn-based group rose to £314m (2011 – £305m) in the 12 months to July 31, 2012. It said sales ...
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Ignorance of hard-up English motorists revealed in fuel-saving survey
Hard-up English motorists are desperate to save money on fuel – but don’t even know how much it costs, a new survey has found. Research for the Energy Saving Trust’s Fuel Your Passion campaign found almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of drivers do not know the average price of a ...
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NewsCurries prove hot stuff at the Oasis Service Station
A North Devon forecourt owner has seen a surge in sales – and attention from the local and national press – after he added home-made curries to his range. Naeem Ahmad (pictured right), who has run the Oasis Service Station at Braunton for four and a half years, says sales ...
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Fuel duty campaigners present to MPs at House of Commoms
Fuel campaigners gathered at the House of Commons today (November 21), to tell MPs about the negative impact of January’s planned fuel duty increase. Supporters of the FairFuelUK campaign, including The Freight Transport Association (FTA), the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and the RAC, made presentations to a panel of MPs. ...
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Action on fuel duty should be top priority, says FSB
Action on fuel duty should be the top priority for the Chancellor George Osborne, according to the Forum of Private Business. The FSB has written to the Chancellor ahead of his Autumn statement next month with a five-point plan which it says will help the small business sector flourish and ...
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Transport minister promises road improvements at twice the speed
Motorists and hauliers will benefit from increased capacity on England’s motorways by spring 2015 thanks to the acceleration of three upgrades, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced today (November 20).These will be delivered in this spending review period rather than the next, as the Government introduces major improvements to the way ...
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Energy Secretary urged to include local shops in Tariff Plans
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the Energy Secretary’s announcement today, calling on the Government to include local shops in plans to give customers fairer tariffs. In an energy select committee meeting, Ed Davey announced plans to reduce the number of tariffs that energy companies can give ...
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Queenborough gets Big Brother Washtec security
WashTec Security Systems – powered by Big Brother, a Dutch CCTV Specialist – has recently installed a fullCCTV-based monitoring system at the George Hammond plc service station site in Queenborough, nearSheerness in Kent.The system, specially designed for forecourts, captures images from cameras located throughout the siteand links them with the ...
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Independents ’do’ help to lead fuel prices down, says angry Madderson
Contrary to reports, independent fuel retailers have helped to lead fuel prices down recently with several reporting that they had dropped prices below local supermarket competition, according to Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA). The PRA has reacted to claims in the AA’s November fuel price report ...
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Motorists are again being ’short-changed’ by fuel retailers, says AA fuel price report
The fuel retailing industry has been accused of ‘short-changing’ motorists by failing to reflect the recent fall in wholesale fuel prices at the pump – despite the threat of an Office of Fair Trading investigation.In its latest fuel price report, the AA reveals that the average UK petrol price between ...