Top 50 Indie The Brookfield Group has completed a “significant” refurbishment of The Tickled Trout Services, to engage with the 80% of its customers it describes as M6 commuters.
The BP site, close to J31 of the motorway at Samlesbury near Preston, has added a food to go station with Costa Express, Tango Ice Blast, Rollover hot dogs and Rustlers, together with a mini-fridge and microwave. And the 24-hour location, off the A59, has upgraded toilets and a refreshed seating area, with stylish furnishings, artwork and decor.
The 2,500 sq. ft Nisa Local store also prominently features Country Choice hot food made freshly in store, Co-op own-brand sandwiches, and a Subway.
Further improvements include energy-efficient refrigeration – as part of a move across The Brookfield Group’s north of England estate to replace chillers older than 10 years. Other additions include an “advanced” air conditioning system, and new facial recognition cameras from Facewatch. Next, the operator is planning to install electric vehicle chargepoints.
The four-week renovation, which follows a major rebuild of the forecourt in 2010, was carried out in phases so that the site could remain open throughout. It included an upgrade to external signage, and enhancements to the counter area, with the addiiton of a vape station supplied by Aquavape.
The Brookfield Group was listed as owning 18 sites in the Forecourt Trader Top Indies report in February – eight of which it operates itself. The West Yorkshire-based business has owned and operated Tickled Trout Services since the mid-2000s, and used the refit to change the store layout and product selection, working with the Nisa fascia group which it joined in 2014.
It said that it took inspiration from upgrades at its sites in East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Umar Patel, operations director at The Brookfields Group, said that he is pleased to have completed the project which had been in planning for a couple of years, and adopted many ideas from the network’s Pocklington Services.
“We have tried to bring as much of what works there into the Tickled Trout site,” he said.
”Our focus has been on enhancing the customer experience, saving business costs, and retaining our loyal customers,” said Umar. ”Given that 80% of our customers are commuters from the M6, we wanted to ensure we provide top-notch facilities for their convenience.”
