Essar adds fourth site

Essar Oil (UK) has confirmed the opening of its fourth retail site, at Sale in Cheshire, since it entered the UK fuel supply sector. The service station, which has been operated by the Akhtar family for the past five years, is located in a residential locality and Essar said it has good potential for growth. Essar entered the sector in November 2015 with its first branded site at Coalville, Leicestershire, which is owned by Top 50 Indie HKS.

First Subway for Sewell

Top 50 Indie Sewell on the go has opened its first Subway franchise, at South Cave service station in Yorkshire. The site, which reopened in November after a £1.5m extension, is a 24-hour one-stop-shop for all grocery and fuel needs.

Sunday trading win

Owners of smaller shops across the UK have welcomed parliament’s decision to reject changes to Sunday trading laws in vote on the Enterprise Bill. The proposals, which would have seen local councils given the power to remove Sunday trading hours in their local area, were rejected by 317 votes to 286 as MPs supported a campaign to retain the existing laws.

Retail crime report

The 2016 ACS Crime Report has revealed that crime against local shops is costing an estimated £122m, or £2,370 per store. On top of this, the average store is investing £1,379 in crime prevention. The total costs of crime and crime prevention equate to the cost of employing more than 12,000 additional full time staff in stores.

Topaz rolls out AdBlue

Ireland’s largest fuel and convenience retailer, Topaz, has launched its own brand AdBlue product which is now available across its network of more than 340 service stations.