Shell has launched a concerted push to significantly increase its number of sites, with 30 dealer locations having already joined its UK supply portfolio this year.
Speaking to Forecourt Trader at its London Shell Centre headquarters last week, network manager Nick Parkes, said the oil giant would expand on the 977 sites it currently supplies with new dealers and company acquisitions. The primary objective, he adds, is to fill geographic gaps in the network.
Last year the business lost 125 MFG petrol stations to rival oil companies. Operators including the Hockenhulls and Joseph Richardson also withdrew forecourts from the brand. And according to Forecourt Trader’s latest Fuel Market Review, Shell at 949 canopies on May 31, 2026, had 185 fewer sites with its brand then than the same time the year before.
In terms of number of sites with oil company brands on them it is ranked third, behind Esso with 1,432, and BP at 1,166, according to the report.
Parkes believes that now the dust has settled over disgruntled dealers deserting the brand, Shell is better placed than ever to keep operators on side and attract others. “We recognise the challenges we had last year, but we learn and adjust,” he says.
“We have a fantastic proposition, which starts with the Shell brand which motorists and businesses across the UK know and trust. V Power is the leading performance fuel, and a big piece for dealers is the award-winning loyalty programme. It is growing leaps and bounds with customer engagement, and will drive footfall and traffic,” he adds.
Parkes, who joined Shell 14 years ago as a graduate, maintains that the focus on growth “with the right sites, in the right places, with the right partners”, is not a knee-jerk reaction to losing so many sites last year after the fuel giant revised terms amid fuel supply contracts.
“We have a fantastic network of company-owned and dealer sites, but there are still parts of the UK where we are not present today, and we want to give customers the choice to choose Shell,” he says.
“There are some pockets throughout the UK where we have lower coverage, like the Southwest and Scotland where we would like more presence.”
Shell will consider how potential acquisitions are performing, and the longer-term potential to develop them with fuel, convenience shopping and electric vehicle charging. “Not every site we buy will have EV now, but it should have potential to as we look to serve customers’ changing needs,” he says.
Currently, 250 of its 548 company-owned sites have Shell Recharge EV charging, as well as several dealers including The Kay Group, and Rob Exelby – giving the brand over 1,000 chargepoints.
Parkes will not be drawn on how many more forecourts the company wants to expand to, from its existing number of 548 company-owned and 429 dealer locations, but says that the ambition is to see “material growth” in the next few years.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you if we were talking numbers of ones or twos,” he says. “This is a concerted effort in the coming years, putting resources and energy behind growing out network into 2030.”
He adds: “We have serious growth ambitions and are set up and ready to move quickly for the right deal for both parties.
“Whether it’s one or 100 sites, we are interested in having a conversation with people looking to sell or looking to partner with us.”
