Pre-tax profits trebled at the Top 50 Indie Platinum Retail, reaching £2.43m compared with £0.81m for the previous year, according to its latest results.

Its accounts for the year to April 30, 2019, show turnover was also substantially up at £52m, compared with £41m the previous year.

In his strategic report, director Sej Sejpal revealed that the company increased its gross profit margin from 5.6% in the previous year to 6.4%, and that business had been assisted by investing in reburbishing stores.

He said some strong locations had been added to its portfolio towards the end of the trading year and this should generate further growth in profits. He added that the company continued to seek further locations and was in advanced negotiations with several dealers.

He further revealed that during the year and following the year-end the group had moved the entire trading mode to commission managed and this had helped to minimise shrinkage within the sites.

The accounts showed that Guyhirn Service Station in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, was acquired on June 21, 2018, for a total consideration of £2.2m, and on April 30, 2019 the company acquired Crown Service Station in Wakefield for a total consideration of £2.7m.

In the most recent Top 50 Indies listing, Platinum Retail was ranked 11th with a total of 27 sites.