Those with an eye for such things will have noticed a trend developing of late: a large number of MFG-owned forecourts have switched their branding from Shell to Esso.
The latest site to have undergone this update is MFG Oulton Broad in Lowestoft, Suffolk, which The Lowestoft Journal reports recently rebranded from the Anglo-Dutch Shell, to Esso, owned by US oil major ExxonMobil.
The Lowestoft forecourt is one of several MFG sites to have switched from Shell to Esso over recent months. At time of writing, MFG’s store locater indicates it has 57 Shell forecourts and 512 Esso ones. In mid-August those figures stood 79 and 493 respectively, while as many as eight forecourts have changed liveries in a single week. The locator also details MFG currently has 337 Morrisons sites, 175 BP forecourts, 62 Jets, 69 Texacos and three Murcos, for a total of 1,215 filling stations.
MFG, Shell and Esso all declined to comment when approached, but sources familiar with the matter have told Forecourt Trader that so large a switch in fuel supplier could be tied to a deal MFG did in April 2015 when it acquired 90 sites from Shell.
While contracts with fuel suppliers typically run for five years, it’s possible that the sale included a condition that the forecourt operator would continue to buy fuel from Shell for those 90 sites for a decade, with that time period having come to an end this year.
However, we have also been told that higher prices from the Anglo-Dutch giant could also be linked to the switches.
MFG – which is the largest independent forecourt operator in the UK – has also submitted planning applications to operate multiple sites on a 24-hour basis.
Other significant initiatives from the firm of late include the installation of Post Office lockers at over 500 sites and a partnership with Wildstone Estates to erect digital advertising billboards at numerous filling stations. MFG has also applied for alcohol licences for a number of forecourts, and has submitted planning applications to upgrade several Morrisons-branded sites following the purchase of the supermarket firm’s 337 forecourts at the beginning of 2024.
