Judd’s Garage, a Harvest Energy petrol filling station with an accompanying car maintenance business in Woodley, near Reading, has changed hands for only the second time in 70 years.
Former owner Philip Ponting, who wants to focus on other interests, has sold the business to Mohan Kandiah, an experienced operator who owns several forecourts across the UK.
The site, on the busy A44 Oxford Road, comes with a small Premier shop, and a former garage and service centre, which Kandiah plans to re-open under a lease agreement with a new operator.
Ponting purchased the business from the Judd family 21 years ago. For most of that time the garage was rented with Kerry Judd and before that his father running the workshop. The site was also previously home to several car sales businesses over the years.
Mohan Kandiah, who bought Judd’s Garage in a deal managed by Christie & Co, has plans to put his mark on the site, and he is on the look out for other opportunities to expand his network.
He says: “I am delighted to have completed the purchase of Judd’s Garage. It is a strong site on a busy A-road with a long-established history, having been trading for many decades.
“I would like to thank Oliver Guppy and Mark Kaluza from Christie & Co for helping me with the purchase and assisting with finding solutions to some of the complex matters that arose. We have plans to re-establish the service and MOT centre, as well as enhance the site as time goes on.”
Ponting says he wishes Kandiah well in his endeavours. “Judd’s is very well-known locally, and it will soon have a new image and offer further facilities to the local community,” he says.
Meanwhile, Oliver Guppy, business agent at Christie & Co who managed the sale, says that it remains a good time for operators considering selling their forecourt to take the leap, with demand for sites continuing to outweigh supply.
“There has been a 150% increase in the number of petrol stations we have sold this year, compared to the same period last year,” says Guppy who is offering free “confidential conversation”.
