Motorway services operator Welcome Break has renegotiated the leases on eight of its sites, securing their continued operation for the next 75 years, a move the firm says will allow it to “continue to make significant further investments” in the services.
The deal involved negotiations with National Highways and the Department for Transport, and will be a boon to the 2,000 or so people who work across the sites.
The eight services to which the deal relates are:
- Newport Pagnell on the M1
- Corley on the M6
- Woodall on the M1
- Birchanger on the M11
- Warwick on the M40
- Membury on the M4
- Keele on the M6
- Leicester Forest East on the M1
Welcome Break’s chief executive, John Diviney, says the company is “delighted” to have renewed the lease agreements, and that “with the certainty that this agreement gives us, we can now focus on our plans to enhance the customer experience across these eight locations”.
Diviney adds that one project will see the firm add 32 charging bays at Leicester Forest East, which is currently the only site in its portfolio without EV sockets. The firm also recently invested £55m into a new MSA off the M1 by Rotherham, and a new £12m site on the A46/A406 south of Nottingham.
Keir Mather from the Department for Transport calls the extension a “landmark” deal, while Elliot Shaw, chief customer and strategy officer at National Highways, which manages the UK’s motorways and major A-roads, comments:
“We’re proud to have secured this long-term lease agreement with Welcome Break, enabling us to further enhance these vital services that help drivers rest, recharge, and stay safe.
