Esso has retained its position as the company with its name on the most petrol filling stations in the UK. It has 1,432 forecourt canopies across the UK bearing its logo – up 164 from 1,268 last year.
The news comes from Forecourt Trader’s Fuel Market Review 2026 with data provided by myAutomate and Informed Sources. The data is for the period ending May 31, 2026, and only measures sites that were open and trading then.
BP retains its number two position with 1,166 canopies, up a modest nine on last year’s figures. Shell comes in at number three with 949 canopies sporting its brand which is down 185 on last year. Shell’s loss is mostly due to Top 50 Indie MFG’s decision to switch fuel supplier at 125 of its sites.
At Valero Energy, its Texaco brand’s loss has been its Valero brand’s gain. Texaco’s number of branded canopies was down 58 to 604, while Valero has 76 more canopies taking its total to 112. MFG plays a part in that success having committed to switching 70 of its sites to the Valero name.
On May 31, 2026, myAutomate’s data says there were 8,338 forecourts open and trading across the UK. This is down 11 sites on last year’s figure, but is attributed to the fact that there is so much development going on in the market that can often render sites closed temporarily. Local newspaper websites are full of planning applications for knockdown rebuilds of filling stations while the number of new-to-industry sites continues to grow apace thanks to the likes of EG On The Move’s ambitious expansion plans
To read more you can download the report here for free.
