Anthony and Paul Salvidge have sold five of their 10 petrol filling stations, riding the wave of strong demand for forecourts, as they consider other business ventures.
All of the sites that the brothers have sold to key players in the market are in East Sussex – at Clayhill, Eastbourne, Horam, Hawkswood and Storrington – in deals brokered by property agent Christie & Co.
They have undergone substantial investment in recent years, including changing the fuel and shop suppliers from their own branding to nationally recognised brands, which the Salvidges say has resulted in increased sales, margins and profitability.
Located in popular transient locations, while also benefiting from being close to residential housing, the sites see an upturn in sales during the busier summer months, and offer the potential for further increased revenue.
Clayhill and Eastbourne Old Town service stations have been acquired by Nalliah Thayaparan of Top 50 Indie NTS Retail, bringing its network to 26 petrol stations. Thayaparan says: “This significant achievement highlights the company’s consistent growth and steadfast commitment to providing fuel and retail services across England and Wales. We are excited to celebrate this significant milestone and look forward to continuing to serve our customers with the highest standards of service and innovation.”
Horam Service Station has been purchased by Prem Uthayankumaran of Prehybrid, an operator who now has four forecourts, and used Christie Finance to manage the financing of this latest addition. Prem says: “I want to use this opportunity to say a big thank you to Mark Kaluza at Christie & Co for the support provided on this acquisition. Independents getting hold of forecourts is becoming a rare occasion and it is difficult to make it happen, but Prehybrid now have four sites all via Mark Kaluza at Christie & Co since the first in 2020.”
Storrington and Hawkswood Service Stations were taken by Sej Sejpal of Platinum Retail, who says: “We have been interested in expanding our network in the southeast and were delighted Mark approached us with this confidential opportunity. We thank Pricewatch for selling these sites to us and hope to provide a market-leading offer to the local community.”
Anthony and Paul Salvidge of Pricewatch say: “We took the decision to sell these sites to free up time as we look to expand our business in other areas. It has been a pleasure serving the local communities over the last couple of years and seeing the sites grow following recent investment.
“We contacted Mark at Christie & Co knowing his wealth of experience in the market and ability to run a confidential process. We were really pleased with his service, from initial pricing discussions to knowing the active operators to approach.”
They add: “We very much wish Sej, Thaya and Prem all the best with their new businesses and look forward to visiting them again soon, or bumping into them at the next trade event to see how things are going.”
Mark Kaluza, regional director at Christie & Co, says, he had received several offers for the sites in a “competitive” and confidential sales process. “We are delighted to have assisted Paul and Anthony, who we have been working with for several years, with the sale of these sites,” he adds.
Kaluza is urging other operators considering a sale to speak to Christie & Co for a “no-obligation market appraisal”.
“In the first quarter of 2025, we sold 44 retail businesses, facilitated over 400 viewings and advised on around £146 million of asset value. The forecourt market in particular is an extremely active sector, with buyers in abundance,” he says.
Neil Collins, associate director at Christie Finance, who managed the financing of Horam Service Station, says: “I am so pleased to have completed on this petrol filling station – these are never a simple deal as there are limited lenders to work with. Working with Prem and the vendors, we have dealt with hurdles along the way, but we were able to respond quickly and obtain the best possible deal for Prem and his business. I look forward to helping him on his next acquisition.”
