Go, which specialises in unmanned forecourts and last week agreed to buy Sainsbury’s Northern Irish fuel-retail operations, is further expanding into England, with a new site in planning for Carlisle.
The firm is proposing to construct a four-pump island forecourt on a site that was historically a petrol station but has been operating as a hand car wash since 2014.
While Go’s proposed development lacks any shop or permanent staff, if approved, it will feature two enclosed and covered jet wash bays.
The forecourt brand, which is based in Cookstown, County Tyrone, is owned by billion-pound family firm LCC Group, one of Northern Ireland’s most valuable companies with interests in coal, energy, oil and gas; LCC also operates an 86,000 tonne capacity oil terminal on the banks of the river Foyle.
Go has historically focussed on Northern Irish forecourts, with the Sainsbury’s deal taking it to 35 sites there, equivalent to 5% of the market. The firm also has around seven forecourts south of the border in Ireland.
In England, Go has been steadily expanding, with six sites in the Liverpool area and a seventh in Wolverhampton, and an eighth in planning for Manchester. The Carlisle project means the company now has a ninth in the pipeline, too.
