A Somerset forecourt is expecting to reach £70,000 per week in shop sales following an extension to create a 3,000sq ft store.

Before the refit at the Esso-branded Budgens Local in Langford, the site was averaging £45-50,000 per week from 2,000sq ft selling space. When the refurbishment was still going on, the shop took £60,000 in one week, and on the opening day, it attracted 2,400 customers.

“We’ve been with Budgens for two and half years and it’s surpassed all our expectations,” said owner Phil Tout, who runs the site with his wife Lesley.

The forecourt currently sells 105,000 litres of fuel per week, but Phil said: “The shop is our main business – the petrol is just incidental now.”

New features include a conveyor belt checkout, and a comprehensive hot food and deli counter. The extension has also enabled the Touts to increase the number of product lines from 2,500 to 7,000.

“We’re now running like a supermarket – trolley shops are the norm,” says Phil. “We thought the belted checkout might not work but the reverse has happened. We now plan to install a twin belt so we will have five till points in total.”

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