Euro Garages has reported a 5% year-on-year rise in fuel and retail sales

 

for the year to July 31 a figure it attributes to its ongoing site re-development programme.

Fuel and retail sales increased from £231.5m in 2008 to £242.2m in 2009.

Profits (EBITDA) were up 26% to £9.1m.

Director of Euro Garages, Mohsin Issa, said the growth was due to a "vastly improved forecourt experience across the majority of the estate". This included a better convenience offering and increased buying power, which enabled Euro Garages to improve its operating margins.

The company, number four in our Top 50 Indies list, has announced the acquisition of three new sites in addition to the 10 it has already taken over since January. Issa said this would provide further sales growth into 2010 and 2011 as each site went live.

Plans for the redevelopment of a motorway service area on the M61 in Chorley, Lancashire, are expected to be submitted in weeks. Other recent acquisitions include a three-acre site in Blackburn, which will be the location of Euro Garages’ new head office building as well as a flagship forecourt, which will serve as a training academy for its 700 employees.