A forecourt shop in Leicester has been presented with a top award at Bestway Wholesale’s annual Retail Development Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London.

Last year Kalpesh and Meeta Raja, who run the shop at Parker Drive Service Station in Beaumont Leys, won the category award for beer and cider, but this year they won the prize for the best store in the entire northern region, scooping a trophy and £2,000 in Bestway vouchers.

Meeta said the couple had introduced a lot of improvements since last year. "Each year Bestway organises seminars for retailers and we’ve really taken on board what was said," she explained.

Coca-Cola rearranged the store’s chilled drinks with new planograms and fridges where drinks automatically move forward to replenish as bottles or cans are taken out, and a complete overhaul of the confectionery section was carried out with help from Mars Confectionery.

Meeta said: "This year sales have vastly gone up even though an Asda store has opened nearby. It hasn’t really affected us at all. It’s really nice to win this recognition for our store, but it’s also nice for our customers because I think they feel part of it too."

Speaking at the awards, Bestway’s group chief executive, Zameer Choudrey, said it was investing to help its customers’ businesses grow.