Maxol has announced plans to continue to grow the company in Ireland through acquisition of established convenience forecourt stores and the purchase of land adjoining existing sites to improve facilities and services for customers.
CEO Brian Donaldson made the announcement at the 2023 Maxol Retail Conference held at The K Club in Kildare last Thursday.
Addressing 265 Maxol retailers, he also revealed that the company was at an advanced stage of negotiations to acquire a number of sites and parcels of land across the country.
The growth plans are part of the Irish, family-owned forecourt and convenience retailer’s recently announced 2023-2027 strategy, which will see an investment of €100M in its network over the next five years.
“We are particularly interested in businesses that already have a strong convenience and food offering, as this is the direction in which our business model has been moving for a number of years,” said Donaldson.
“Our five-year plan is to continue to evolve our business mix, further reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and increasing our non-fuel revenues by focusing on key categories from coffee, food to go and grocery, whilst also being recognised as a leader in quality advanced fuels and new energies for mobility.”
Donaldson also updated Maxol’s retailers on plans to develop a series of ultra rapid EV charging hubs around the country, the first of which was launched in Maxol Kinnegar, Co Down in December.
This was the first dedicated ultra rapid EV hub in Northern Ireland, with four high-speed chargers servicing up to six vehicles simultaneously, adding to the three other EV charging points Maxol has in place in Antrim and Belfast under the Maxol Recharge brand.
“Maxol Kinnegar has provided us with a blueprint for how we will continue to transition the business in line with the rise in low- and zero-emission vehicles. And now, I’m excited to be able to announce today that proposals for EV charging at Braid River in Ballymena, Maxol Newbridge and Maxol Ballycoolin, Co. Dublin are planned this year,” he said.
Despite challenges in relation to grid access and energy capacity, Donaldson said that he believed the transition to EVs would continue and be a success, in time, but that Maxol’s EV strategy is to roll out services gradually, prioritising sites where demand is greatest.
