Penny Petroleum has started operating its 100th petrol station, a 5mlpa volume forecourt in the heart of Whitby, North Yorkshire.
The Esso site on Upgang Lane, minutes from the beach, benefits from tourist and local trade. It has a small shop, which with planning permission could be extended into an onsite MOT garage.
Currently, the Geo. Harrison (Whitby)-branded store, has a basic range of tobacco, snacks, soft drinks, and everyday essentials including milk.
But Penny Petroleum’s chief financial officer, Martin Wheller, says that once the store is developed there is scope to introduce a wider offer including a big brand coffee machine, fresh produce and alcohol.
The previous owner George Cockerill, who bought the business from the original owners the Harrison family in 1972, has developed the site with a canopy and “competitive pricing”, says Wheller. Cockerill is now focusing on his car dealership, van rental and MOT business in the town.
“George has built a really fantastic fuel business in the way it is marketed and operated in the community, and we intend to continue with this,” says Wheller. “Esso has been there for a long time and we intend to keep it that way.”
There is also an opportunity to develop the forecourt, which is on a half-acre plot. Currently it has four twin pumps, with 16 nozzles in total, with room to include valeting.
Wheller says that the Top 50 Indie, which completed on the site at the end of April, will hold a planning meeting next week to “talk through the options” of developing the forecourt. He adds: “We want to retain some of the charm and quality of the site, and also to bring it into the Penny estate, and standardise it, and bring it up to our systems.”
The shop, which is attached to the Conservative Club, with housing around it, is close to its original design which was introduced decades ago. ”It has been modernised with a canopy and Greenergy standards, and we want to keep the characteristics of the original site,” says Wheller
Geo. Harrison was founded in 1907 by the late George Harrison, when he was 18-years-old. He later moved premises to the Whitby site, from its Arundel Place location, also in Whitby.
