Having broken through the milestone of more than 50 dealer-supplied sites, Essar Oil UK is looking to build on its retail brand by developing a leading edge, new build “Roadside Retail” location, opposite the entrance to its Stanlow Refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

The company is keen to use this retail investment to highlight its brand and would welcome expressions of interest from retail partners in both developing the retail offer and in running the business with Essar.

The one acre site, situated on the busy A5117 road between the M56 and M53 motorways, was previously a small forecourt, but will be transformed into Essar’s flagship vision for retail in the coming months.

Planning permission has been secured for the development, which will comprise a convenience store of about 4,000sq ft, and five fuelling islands – four for retail and one HGV enabled. There will be parking for about 25 cars and space for up to four electric charging points. It is predicted that about 30 jobs will be created, with the site expected to open later this year.

SB Prasad, chief commercial officer, retail at Essar, explained: “This development has been two years in the planning and marks the next stage in the evolution of our retail brand offering and is a real statement of intent.

“The funds to develop the project are in place and while we have the ability to operate the site ourselves, we think that there is a real partnership opportunity for those with an evolved retail offer or real forecourt expertise to do the retailing while we focus on producing high quality fuels for the UK.

“Accordingly, we welcome any expressions of interest from forecourt operators keen to run what we believe will be one of the best retail sites in the North West.”

SB Prasad added: “Dealers and motorists already understand Stanlow’s role in providing high quality fuels made in Britain and our brand is the perfect complement to the latest redevelopment – where better to showcase this than opposite our main manufacturing base.

“We fully expect this location to pump well over six million litres each year. We have already had significant interest from big retail brands in working with us and will look to finalise matters in the next three months. Anyone interested in this exciting opportunity should contact retail@essaroil.co.uk for more information.”

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