Certas Energy has named its new head of retail estates, with Vijay Hindocha joining the firm after more than a decade with EG Group.
Hindocha is poised to play a key role in Certas as the firm looks to expand its operations after its parent company, DCC Energy, was acquired private-equity outfits Energy Capital Partners and KKR in July this year in a £5.75bn deal.
Certas operates over 70 forecourts in the UK, 41 of which are unmanned, and supplies fuel to over 1,200 petrol stations, including 307 Gulf and 85 Pace sites. As of August the company had a further seven unmanned forecourts in development and is actively seeking more, with plans to double its unmanned footprint by the end of the decade.
Hindocha’s experience at EG Group, where he worked from 2014 to 2026, included him heading up that firm’s company-owned, company-operated retail operations in Germany, overseeing 3,000 staff.
He also worked on integrating 1,000 Esso forecourts into EG’s estate as part of a 20-year partnership with Exxon Mobil, and led the rollout of the Rewe Express convenience store brand at 164 sites.
Bryan Main, managing director of Certas Mobility, says Hindocha “brings extensive experience and a proven track record in retail transformation and commercial leadership”.
Main adds that Hindocha’s “ability to improve performance and deliver growth make him a valuable addition to Certas as we look to strengthen and expand our position in the UK forecourt market.”
Hindocha himself says he is “delighted to have joined Certas Energy at an exciting time for the business and the wider UK forecourt sector”, adding that he sees “significant opportunities” to contribute to Certas’ expansion, being “particularly interested in how we can further develop our food-to-go, coffee and car wash offers” and seeing “real opportunities to expand our retail network”.
