Major development work has been completed this summer on three dealer-owned sites in the North East of England.

All three sites – at Fenceshouses, Great Ayton and Northallerton – are supplied by Greenergy under the Esso brand and have experienced strong growth in their first six weeks of trading.

Fencehouses near Houghton in Co Durham, is one of three sites owned by SRJ Energy.

Owner and operator Kavitha Thirumalai had first signed with Greenergy in 2017 for fuel supply and after extensive discussions and planning, decided to go ahead with a full redevelopment and rebranding to Esso, still supplied by Greenergy.

The forecourt re-opened in late June after a four-month closure, with four Synergy-branded fuel pumps and over 2,000sq ft of retail space, including the first Family Shopper convenience store in the area.

Kavitha said: “Having previously operated branded sites, we knew we were looking for a branded supply offer. At Fencehouses, we have kept the customer service and reliability benefits of Greenergy and added the significant customer appeal of the Esso brand.

“It was a difficult decision to close our site for four months to complete the redevelopment, but we need not have worried. The team at Greenergy have supported us throughout the process, and both fuel and store sales have both quickly returned, already exceeding our targets.”

The Great Ayton site, on the edge of the North York Moors, had been on the market for some time when it was bought in 2016 by John Alexander. He recognised the potential of the small site and over the course of 12 weeks has completed a major redevelopment including a double storey shop to replace the old small kiosk, increased storage space, four new pumps, canopy, and the adoption of Esso Synergy branding.

He explained: “This is a small and unique site, and it was desperate for investment so that is could provide the community with quality products and greater choice. We have seen our business grow since re-opening, and our customers have told us they appreciate quality fuel such as Esso Synergy and the ability to use their Tesco Clubcard.”

John Stevenson of Stevenson of Oxbridge, a family business established by John’s father in 1978, has experienced similar success. John was looking to expand the business and identified a site on the outskirts of Northallerton, a market town in North Yorkshire, as ideal for their first new-to-industry development.

The site formally operated as a tyre garage, and after a full demolition, opened in July with a four-pump Esso forecourt and a 2,690sq ft Nisa shop. The site was designed to stand out, and with its contemporary forecourt, ample parking and Subway to open in-store shortly, it is a modern alternative for the town.

After reviewing other suppliers’ offers, John chose to sign with Greenergy supply under the Esso brand as it provided the best combination of customer service and branded quality fuel. John commented: “It’s always a big decision selecting a fuel supplier for a site, especially a new to industry one. We had to give careful consideration to the benefits a supplier could give. We opted for Greenergy because of the big brand of Esso and the strong loyalty rewards with Clubcard. The combination has worked very well since opening with volumes exceeding expectations.”

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