Tout’s Cleeve wins Forecourt Trader of the Year 2023

Tout’s Cleeve was the outright winner at last night’s Forecourt Trader of the Year awards ceremony, beating a record number of entries to take top honours at the retail fuel industry’s most prestigious competition.

Hosted by celebrity actor and comedian Stephen Mangan, the awards provided a fantastic showcase for the forecourt sector, acknowledging its vision and dynamism, as retailers continue to evolve and innovate to meet the rapidly changing needs of the demanding customer and the environment.

“Times are extremely challenging, and we know that success is hard fought, as everyone navigates the road ahead - particularly at this time, when the road ahead is subject to so many changes,” said Forecourt Trader editor Merril Boulton.

“Every year we are always amazed by the exceptional drive, ambition, and creativity of fuel retailers and how each year there is a new star pushing the boundaries. This year it’s the Touts – winners with their Nailsea site in 2008 – who have created a unique £6m development featuring a 4,100-sq ft store, Esso forecourt, an 82-capacity lounge/restaurant called The Maple, a 12-capacity hair salon, a 40-seater training facility, and head office – its first concept site for building a destination that contains all the things people want quickly and in-person. It was designed around food art, knowledge and theatre and is bristling with innovation on all fronts. An amazing entry, a stunning development, many congratulations!”

The award was collected by Jonathan Tout (whose parents Lesley and Philip Tout won in 2008) and his wife Zena, who described the development as a labour of love and passion, with the aim of creating a unique and authentic experience for its customers and teams; with the store designed as ‘mostly a supermarket, fairly like a farm shop, little like a discounter and nothing like a corner shop’.

Tout’s Cleeve initially won the award for Best Site in the South West & Wales in the 4mlpa+ regional category, which made it eligible for being considered for the top prize. It also won three Specialist category awards: Best Design & Development; Best Forecourt Innovation and Best Forecourt Loo.

All entries were subject to a rigorous judging process which took the Forecourt Trader team far and wide across the UK, experiencing forecourt service first hand to deliver real integrity. With standards so high, not just the winners but all the finalists were congratulated for their competitive entries.

Other notable winners on the night included Rob Exelby, managing director of Exelby Services, who received the Special Recognition Award, decided by the readers of Forecourt Trader using an online voting system.

Rob was winner of Forecourt Trader of the Year in 2021 with its A19 North operation, and always has his eye out for the next ‘big thing’. Recently the company has completed an extensive sustainability project which will see the A19 site cut its energy usage in half over the course of 2023 as Exelby Services aims to become a carbon neutral operation by 2030 across its five sites. Exelby Services is also partnering with hydrogen refuelling specialist Element 2 to develop two hydrogen refuelling stations.

The Best Oil Company Initiative was won by Gulf with its Oomph+Foresite sales optimisation system; while BP was Highly Commended for its Voice of the Customer Initiative.

The Forecourt Trader awards cover two main categories, including six regional categories – covering all types of forecourt operation, whether it’s a high-volume A-road site serving commuters or a rural site serving the local community. The 14 specialist categories give all staff working in the retail forecourt sector the chance to show off their skills and achievements in the past year.

 

See below for a list of all the 2023 Forecourt Trader Award winners:

 

Forecourt Trader Awards 2023 WINNERS

 

Forecourt Trader of the Year 2023

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, North Somerset

 

REGIONAL CATEGORIES

London & South East over 4mlpa

Rontec Billingshurst – Billingshurst, West Sussex

 

London & South East up to 4mlpa

Budgens Frilford – Frilford, Oxfordshire

 

Midlands over 4mlpa

MFG Barton Mills Service Station – Barton Mills, Suffolk

 

Midlands up to 4mlpa

Welcome Break Newark Services – Balderton, Nottinghamshire

 

Northern England over 4mlpa

Winsford Gateway Service Station – Winsford, Cheshire

 

Northern England up to 4mlpa

Prospect Service Station – Ossett, West Yorkshire

 

Northern Ireland over 4mlpa

McCullagh’s Classic Service Station – Omagh, Co. Tyrone

Northern Ireland up to 4mlpa

Maxol Eurospar Kinnegar – Holywood, Co. Down

 

Scotland

Park Forfar – Longlevens, Forfar

 

West Country & Wales over 4mlpa

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, North Somerset

 

West Country & Wales up to 4mlpa

Ascona Green Garage Bush Hill – Pembroke, Pembrokeshire

 

Best Motorway Service Outlet

Shell Cobham Motorway Services – Cobham, Surrey

 

 

SPECIALIST CATEGORIES

Best Alternative Fuels

MFG Barton Mills Service Station – Barton Mills, Suffolk

 

Best Car Care & Lubricants Outlet

Park Thieves Lane – Shrewsbury, Shropshire

 

Best Coffee & Hot Beverages Outlet

Rontec Magor – Caldicot, Monmouthshire

 

Best Community Engagement

P&G Eurospar – Potadown, Co. Armagh

 

Best Customer Service

Daly’s Service Station – Dungannon, Co. Tyrone

 

Best Design and Development

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, North Somerset

 

Best Food-To-Go Outlet

Spar Mallusk – Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim

 

Best Forecourt Innovation

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, Somerset

 

Best Forecourt Loo

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, Somerset

 

Best Forecourt Team

Doagh Eurospar – Doagh, Co. Antrim

 

Best Site Manager

Danielle Hamilton from Maxol Eurospar Kinnegar, Co. Down

 

Best Soft Drinks Outlet

Lynch’s Eurospar Greysteel – Greysteel, Londonderry

 

Best Sustainability Strategy

Maxol Eurospar Kinnegar – Holywood, Co. Down

 

Best Valeting Facilities

Budgens Frilford – Frilford, Oxfordshire

 

Best Oil Company Initiative

Highly Commended

BP - The Voice of the Customer Initiative

Winner

Gulf - OOMPH + Foresite