Tout’s Food Stores – a two-time winner of the Forecourt Trader of the Year award – is to offload its three sites in Somerset to BP under a lease deal. However, the almost 50-year-old family firm, which is not disclosing the terms of the arrangement, plans to stay in the industry by developing new sites.
The Co-op Wholesale-supplied stores in Cleeve, Langford and Nailsea will undergo a refurbishment to the M&S Food/Wildbean Cafe format after the sale completes on December 1, and will reopen in “early” 2027. Staff at the three sites will transfer to BP under transfer of undertakings (protection of employment), or TUPE, arrangements.
The forecourts will also switch from Esso to BP branding.
Tout’s – which will retain its head office at its flagship Cleeve site, winner of the top Forecourt Trader award in 2023 – intends to use the funds from the deal for an expansion drive. Chief executive officer Jon Tout says “plans are progressing for new sites within Somerset”, with a location in Taunton believed to be the likely first step.
At a Forecourt Trader On The Road event in October 2025, Tout said the company aspired to run a 10-strong network, with a retail formula mirroring its award-winning Cleeve site, known for its locally sourced produce and wide-ranging retail offer.
He adds: ”If we were ever going to hand these stores to someone else, it was never going to be just anyone. The opportunity with BP came at the right time, and it gives us the means to keep building new Tout’s sites.”
The business, which was founded by Tout’s parents in 1977 and previously won a Forecourt Trader of the Year accolade for its Nailsea site in 2008, also intends to develop its standalone pharmacy business, which has oulets in Cheddar, Street, and Dorchester.
Jo Hayward, VP, mobility and convenience retail, UK, at BP says: “Jon Tout and his family have built something special at Langford, Nailsea and Cleeve, and we’d like to thank them for creating award-winning sites for the local community. We’re delighted to welcome the dedicated store teams to BP and look forward to working with them.”
In a LinkedIn post on November 11, Zena Tout, brand director and Jon Tout’s wife, said: “This one is hard. I joined Tout’s at 17, merchandising stores before a gap year on the tills. Almost 20 years later, I’m still here…Today is really sad. Not just for our family, but for our incredible teams, who have given so much to Tout’s and are feeling this too.”
Jon Tout acknowledges the role of property agent Will Trott of WT Estates in securing the deal with BP. “Will has been alongside us throughout what has been an enormous decision and process for our family. He knows our business and our sites incredibly well, and his advice, persistence and support have been invaluable in getting us to this point,” he says.
He concludes: “This is not the end. We’re genuinely excited about what comes next.”
