Prem Uthayakumaran, from Prehybrid and spokesperson for the Harvest Dealer Group, is calling on oil companies to be bold and help Harvest dealers rebrand their sites.
“We have it on good authority – from our solicitors – that we can legally rebrand; we just need the oil companies to get on board,” he says. “They are hesitant to get involved but we really need their help. This is a unique opportunity where multiple independent dealer networks will be looking to rebrand at the same time, which is likely to be within Q1 of 2026.”
He continues: “I see some positive developments among suppliers, but I urge more of them to place their trust in the legal due diligence provided by the lawyers on behalf of the dealers. This will enable them to prepare for rebranding and potentially sign longer-term supply agreements.”
Uthayakumaran is also urging those Harvest dealers that have not yet joined the Group to do their due diligence to give them peace of mind. “Our Group members have the backing of solicitors but if you don’t have that backing, it could be risky to rebrand your site,” he explains.
Uthayakumaran says that although his sites are now getting regular fuel supplies, he is still losing money. “That’s because we have no branding. All the Harvest Energy branding is covered over which means drivers don’t know what fuel brand they are getting and it is beginning to make the sites look scruffy. We need branding to make us look like the professionals we are.”
He also says that, thankfully, calls from debt collectors have slowed down a bit because he can direct any enquiries straight to solicitors.
Solicitors continue to work on behalf of the Group to legally challenge Harvest Energy on breach of contract.
• Harvest Energy’s administrators were contacted for comment.
