Top 50 Indie Karan Retail has bought Herringthorpe Service Station, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, through specialist business property adviser Christie & Co.

The Jet-branded, forecourt has four pump islands with 22 nozzles, with capacity for over 45,000 litres of fuel across five storage tanks and a throughput of 1.8mlpa. The open plan store was extended and fully refitted following significant reinvestment in the summer of 2015 and also houses a Subway franchise.

Herringthorpe Service Station is positioned in a residential area on a busy A road on the edge of the town centre. Open 24 hours, the site benefits from strong passing and local trade, generating income from fuel sales, grocery store sales and licensed trade, plus additional income from forecourt services, such as air and water machines and screen washing.

The site has been owned and operated by Myuran Mahadevan and Pavatharini Myuran for 14 years, and the husband and wife team decided to sell after relocating from Rotherham to Guildford in order to be closer to family. While they still own a trading retail site in the East Midlands, the pair plan to exit the retail market and enter the care sector in the next few years.

Myuran Mahadevan commented: “We have dealt with Christie & Co several times in the past with business transactions. We have known Jon Booth from Christie & Co for nearly four years now and have always had a good relationship. He encouraged us to put our site on the market with the price we had in mind and within two months of being on the market, we had an offer agreed to an established operator who was looking to expand his portfolio and we found him to be genuine.”

Herringthorpe Service Station is Karan Retail’s 12th site. The group, which was ranked 21 in the 2019 Forecourt Trader Top 50 Indies, plans to double its portfolio in the coming years. Herringthorpe Service Station will continue to operate as a managed business, while the store will be rebranded and trade under the Budgens banner.

Jon Booth, senior business agent at Christie & Co handled the sale and commented: “The price achieved in the sale of Herringthorpe Service Station demonstrates the role a managed, open marketing process can play in securing a genuine premium price. While the supply of quality sites remains limited across the North of England, those owners seeking an exit should ensure they leave no value on the table. With our market leading comparable data base of UK wide transactions, Christie & Co remains best placed to give reliable market advice.”

Christie & Co sought an asking price of £1.5m for the freehold interest of Herringthorpe Service Station.