Top 50 Indie Ascona Group has acquired Truckhaven (Carnforth), its second, and largest, trunk road service area for HGV drivers.
The Lancashire site on junction 35 of the M6 brings Ascona’s estate up to 70 locations, and is described by the Pembrokeshire-based company as a “significant milestone” in its “ambitious growth strategy”.
The 17-acre Truckhaven site has an Esso branded filling station with its own detached 24-hour shop, overnight parking for 245 lorries, and an amenity building housing an extensive restaurant, showering facility, retail shop, licensed bar, launderette and a 26 en-suite bedroom hotel.
Ascona says that it has identified truckstops as a “strategically important segment of the market”, having already developed a much smaller scale site for hauliers, Tenby Road Service Station, on the A40 in Carmarthen, Wales. This 24-hour pitstop includes a petrol filling station, truck wash, showers, shop and overnight parking.
Darren Briggs, founder and chief executive of Ascona Group, says that he plans to develop his latest acquisition, which he describes as “is an exciting addition to our growing portfolio and reflects our confidence in the long-term opportunities within the UK’s roadside services market”.
“Our ambition is to build on Truckhaven’s strong reputation by investing in the site, enhancing the customer retail experience and creating a first-class destination for drivers and visitors alike,” he says.
”We have ambitious plans for the site. We intend to improve the forecourt facilities with a brand new retail shop offering and for the HGVs, a brand new state of the art truck wash in the coming months.
“This acquisition demonstrates our continued commitment to identifying high-quality businesses where we can add value through investment, innovation and operational excellence.”
Ascona remains keen to continue expanding its national portfolio. At the end of last year it announced plans to grow to 120 forecourts in the next 12 to 18 months, after securing £200m funding from independent credit firm Blazehill Capital, alongside HSBC.
Ascona property director Manoj Tugnait describes Truckhaven as a “strategically located asset”, and an “excellent fit” with the company’s long-term growth. “Completing a transaction of this scale required close collaboration between all parties, and I am delighted that we have successfully brought it to completion,” says Tugnait.
“I would like to thank Brogan Grier at G+S for his professional advice and support throughout the acquisition, and our legal advisers, Simmons & Simmons LLP, whose commercial expertise, pragmatic advice and dedication were instrumental in navigating a complex transaction through to a successful completion.
“I would also like to thank the Truckhaven management team for their constructive and professional approach throughout the process. They have built and operated a well-respected business, and we look forward to working with the team as we invest in the site, enhance the customer experience and build on Truckhaven’s strong reputation for the benefit of customers, colleagues, and the wider transport community. We are excited to unlock the site’s full potential as part of the Ascona portfolio and to deliver further investment over the coming months.”
Having originally developed the Truckhaven site at Carnforth in the early 1990s, Michael Jelley of Stonplan adds: “We are confident that Ascona are the right people to take the site forward as the industry develops. They inherit a robust business that has prioritised the provision of high-quality facilities for the haulage industry, along with an outstanding operational team.”
