Sales of petrol stations hit a post-recession record last year, as retail property prices bounced back to 2007 levels buoyed by an increase of 8.8% on 2015 according to Steve Rodell, head of retail at Christie & Co, which claims to have sold more petrol stations than ever before.

"During 2016 the forecourt market was driven by at the top end four private equity-backed ’super dealers’," he said.

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