After just a few months in his role as managing director at Top 50 Indie Motor Fuel Group (MFG), Jeremy Clarke has taken significant steps to improve the management and profitability of the company’s 48-site network.

In the past few weeks MFG has signed contracts with Istobal, Gilbarco Veeder-Root and Fairbanks, all aimed at improving its forecourt offering and providing it with much better forecourt maintenance and management services.

Istobal has been awarded a three-year contract to maintain all of MFG’s existing valeting, vacuum and air/water equipment. Another three-year contract has been awarded to Gilbarco Veeder-Root to provide pump and gauge maintenance cover and, in addition, to supply pumps and gauges in line with MFG’s forecourt upgrade plans. The first orders have already been placed.

An agreement has been signed with Fairbanks to provide wet-stock management and loss-prevention services.

Jeremy Clarke said: "It is vitally important for us in these early days of our business to put in place key relationships that will bring management benefits to us and service benefits to our customers."

The company is also refitting the convenience stores at all of its sites.

It has awarded Manchester-based shopfitting contractor Shopmate a £1.5m contract to refit its 48 stores.

After detailed site surveys, the full programme starts this month and will run for a year.

Finally, MFG has brought another former Murco manager onto its team with the appointment of Matthew Bird as operations manager.

Bird has worked at Murco for the past nine years.

He initially joined as an area retail manager and was subsequently promoted to regional manager for the North.