Forecourts have excelled at Bestway Wholesale’s annual Retail Development Awards, taking two of the top awards.

Overall winner was Best-one forecourt operator QP Petroleum in Runcorn, with owner Kuperan Murugesu collecting the trophy and a cheque for £10,000.

Husband and wife team Kalpesh and Meeta Raja, who run a forecourt shop in Leicester, are celebrating after claiming an award for the fifth successive year and their biggest win yet.

The 24-hour forecourt shop at Parker Drive Service Station in Beaumont Leys, which last year won the category award for confectionery, was crowned the best store in the entire Northern region with a £2,000 prize in this year’s awards.

Meeta said it had been a difficult year for retailers and attributed the win to being able to maintain standards of customer service, keeping modern and offering customers competitive pricing.