Industry newcomer Roadside Real Estate, which entered the forecourt sector in 2024 and has since built up a portfolio of 21 filling stations, is “confident” in its long-term outlook due to the industry’s “fragmented” ownership model, which allows it to acquire sites at pace.
The firm also cites “resilient consumer demand and evolving convenience retail trends” as reasons for its positive outlook, detailed in Roadside’s accounts for the six months from October 2025 to March 2026.
But it is the disparate nature of the UK’s independent forecourt-ownership model that bodes best for the firm, with the board of directors writing that it “continues to see a highly attractive pipeline of consolidation opportunities across the fragmented UK independent forecourt sector”.
In December last year Roadside spent £17.5m on the six forecourts previously operated by Gardner Retail, while in June this year it bought 12 petrol filling stations from the Hoch Group (also known as Hills) for £28.6m.
Other acquisitions include DA Roberts’ forecourt and bulk-fuel distribution business, which set the firm back £11.9m, and a standalone filling station in Huntley, Gloucestershire, which came in at £2.9m. Roadside is also bringing a former Sainsbury’s filling station in Coventry back to life, having paid £1.25m for the defunct site in July 2025.
Funding for these and other projects comes from a variety of sources. In March 2026 Roadside sold a £14m stake in Cambridge Sleep Sciences, a company that makes pillows that play “psychoacoustic sounds”, plus other products and apps designed to aid nighttime rest. Roadside sold £20.75m worth of shares in itself in part to facilitate the DA Roberts acquisition, and has a £25m debt facility with HSBC, with the potential to expand this by a further £10m.
As of March 28, 2026 Roadside has £48.9m worth of equity, up from £33.36m in September 2025. Yet despite such growth its presence in the UK forecourt sector is relatively new, with the company having held a variety of interests over the past 16 years.
The firm was founded in 2010 when it was known as Sovereign Mines of Africa and focussed on gold exploration in the Republic of Guinea. In 2018 it changed its name to The Barkby Group and operated various pub and hospitality businesses, and an automotive dealership.
It again renamed itself, this time to Roadside Real Estate, in January 2024, pivoting as it did so “to build a scalable portfolio of high-quality petrol filing stations and roadside retail assets in the UK”. The firm now makes reference to “energy forecourts”, however, indicating it has one eye on petrol pumps and another on electric chargers.
