A service station in East Yorkshire has been able to ’high light’ its rebranding to Gulf with a 10-metre pole sign and a canopy fascia fitted with LED illumination.

The rebranding of Leven Road Service Station on the A165 in East Yorkshire is the latest initiative by proprietor Roger Perry designed to revitalise the site.

It follows a refurbishment and facelift to the Londis-supplied forecourt shop.

Roger is an experienced fuel operator having run a number of sites for Esso before taking on Leven Services seven years ago. Since then he has improved the facilities and service levels of a business that now pumps more than 3 million litres annually with a similar throughput from bunkering.

“The site has no direct access off the A165 and is partially hidden by trees so we have to work extremely hard to draw motorists and shoppers to our forecourt,” explained Roger.

“We are fortunate to have wide open spaces for parking and manoeuvring and a well-designed starter gate pump layout with separate facilities for HGVs. Our shop is around 1,000 sq ft and is always well stocked with a wide and varied convenience offering which includes Costa Coffee.

“Until the recent change to Gulf we had been Total-branded,” added Roger, who said he had received a very competitive offer from Greenergy for the Esso brand.

“I have an historic affinity with Esso and thought long and hard about making the switch but I have built up a strong rapport with Certas Energy. The service levels are good and the company has demonstrated by its actions that it is committed to the dealer market in this part of the country.”

Part of the negotiations focused on the introduction of a 10-metre pole sign and unconventional Gulf canopy fascia fitted with LED illumination.

“Our site is set back from the busy A165 and a conventional pole sign and canopy facia would be difficult to see, especially at night. I had strong views on the height of the pole sign and the look and feel of the canopy edging. Certas Energy understood my vision and their flexibility impressed me greatly. I am very pleased with the outcome, the site looks alive again and our roadside visibility has improved.

“Until the forecourt rebranding, shop sales had been increasing year on year by 9%. The switch to Gulf appears to have added further impetus to shop takings while fuel volumes, although it’s still early days, are on the increase. The Londis and Gulf brands represent the future of our business and we are delighted with the way things have turned out.”

To mark the rebranding, Certas Energy arranged for last year’s Le Mans podium placed Gulf Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE to be on display over a weekend supported by giveaways and a chance to win a track day courtesy of Aston Martin Racing and Gulf.

“We thought it would be a fun way of a celebrating our new look on the forecourt and the recent refurb of our shop,” said Roger. “It was a successful weekend and the car proved to be a popular addition.”

The 4.5litre V8 with a top speed of 190mph finished third in class at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, piloted by Darren Turner, Peter Dumbreck and Stefan Mucke.