Pearl Forecourts has opened its 19th petrol station: a new-to-industry site in Bradford which will include its first shop within a shop Asian wholesale operation.
Owner Hanif Mohmed has invested £4m, including the cost of the land, in this Shell/Spar addition. And he says that he intends to follow the EG On the Move model of opening new-to-industry sites, as well as undergoing knockdown rebuilds, in his quest to ultimately operate 25 to 30 “quality forecourts”.
“There’s no point in buying tired sites and doing them up. That model no longer works, with customers expecting large, quality sites. It can cost nearly as much to refurbish a site as it would to knock it down and rebuild,” says Mohmed. ”It might be two years of hard work but it is well worth it,” he adds.
His latest addition Whetley Hill Service Station, which opened on January 23, took 14 months to get through planning, with Mohmed initially buying the land in 2023.
It follows his first knockdown rebuild which took place at Shell Failsworth near Manchester, and opened last August. He is about to launch a second knockdown rebuild in Bury in April/May this year, and he has two more knockdown rebuilds in the planning process from his existing estate, with another five earmarked for demolition to build again.
Less than two weeks after opening, Whetley Hill Service Station is hitting a weekly 70,000 litres of fuel, and £10,000 in shop sales. It has already established itself as a place to buy cheaper fuel with locals, with unleaded at 128.9ppl and diesel at 137.9ppl. And Mohmed is confident both figures will increase by 25-30% by the end of the year.
The 24-hour site, which was formerly occupied by a restaurant, and a petrol station/car dealership before that in the 1970s, is still undergoing its final touches. Land is being resurfaced to introduce 40 more parking spaces, to add to the existing 11 – and the three Air-Serv jet washes went live this week.
On the forecourt there are four islands with each of the fuel grades, and there is an HGV and two AdBlue pumps. There is also an Air-Serv ‘vac & fresh’ and an ‘air & screen’ machine.
Still to come in March will be an £80,000 investment in 144 solar panels, on the 5.5m high canopy and shop roof, with two back-up batteries and 16 inverters. Mohmed’s Failsworth site will also be installed with the equipment at the same time, and the new build in Bury will also have solar panels when it opens this summer.
This follows a successful trial at Mohmed’s Monarch forecourt in Oldham which saved £1,500 of electricity costs a month by using solar panels last year. “We had a really good summer, but even at 18 degrees with the sun shining savings can be made,” says Mohmed.
His next project at Bury will be the first to offer electric vehicle charging. Its more town centric location makes it suitable to take four 400kW chargepoints, believes Mohmed. It will also have a 4,000sq ft store, with a Subway concession. On the forecourt there will be two jet washes and a rollover carwash, with two shop units on the site to rent out on the 1.7 acre plot.
Whetley Hill Service Station, meanwhile, is in a residential area with retail businesses on its doorstep. Its 2,800sq ft shop has lots of references to the Muslim community it serves. As well as the 100sq ft Spice World-branded cash and carry to be introduced with big bags of flour, halal meat and holy water, retailing at £20 for five-litres, there is a Karak Chai hot drink machine at the entrance. This is beside a Costa, a F’real Shakes & Slush, and two frozen Coca-Cola machines.
There are also lots of Asian references throughout: with Ramadan dates, and a Sunshine-branded confectionery range being introduced especially for the religious occasion this February.
The range is largely focused on food for now, with a strong American confectionery line-up: a category which is doing well for Mohmed throughout his estate. However, there is a four-door freezer cabinet, stocked with pizza, vegetables and ice-cream, and all of the usual everyday essentials are available throughout the store.
There is also a large chilled soft drinks offer, with 7m of protein options, a focus on energy, and unusual brands including Celsius Fantasy Vibe, Blue Bear, and Oreo Delight Iced Coffee.
Aesthetically the site is not unlike the EG On The Move model Mohmed hopes to replicate. There is porcelain beige tile flooring and a painted exposed ceiling.
“Zuber knows what he is doing with his new to industry sites,” says Mohmed.
