Asda is aiming to have 100 standalone filling stations by 2018.

During the announcement of its third quarter results it revealed the expansion plans for its standalone forecourts – which currently number three – as part of plan to break into parts of the UK where its market share is low.

The supermarket giant said it was looking to increase customer access to Asda from 53% of the UK to 70% through the physical development of stores and the extension of Click & Collect to over 1,000 locations by 2018, with a particular emphasis on London and the south east.

Asda opened its first standalone forecourt store in Sale, Greater Manchester, last November with the store also acting as its first Click & Collect hub, allowing customers to pull into the forecourt to collect orders made online.

A second site opened opposite its Leeds head office in January, but it said at the time it would concentrate on supplying petrol to staff and suppliers.

After revealing like-for-like sales were up 0.3% in the third quarter, CEO and president Andy Clarke said: “I’m pleased with our performance in the third quarter of this year. The market conditions are tough, competition is fierce and our customers’ budgets are under intense pressure. We’ve continued to invest in lowering prices which has held them down for our customers while driving volume growth. This means we enter the crucial fourth quarter in a solid position.

“Looking to the longer term, we recognised some time ago that no matter whether the macro economy is slowly improving, every day finances remain under pressure and our customers have less time. Consequently, they are changing the way they live, budget and shop, to adapt to this new economic reality.

“We regard ourselves as the UK’s leading value retailer and it is against this backdrop that I have today set out our strategic priorities which will improve, extend and expand the business over the next five years. There are three major components to this approach which will redefine value. First, we will build on our heritage of low prices by rebasing our pricing to the tune of £1bn. Second, we will make a £250m investment in quality, style and design and third, we will expand Asda to reach new customers in the UK, particularly in London and the south east.”

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