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Ascona Group, one of the UK’s fastest-growing forecourt operators, has extended its partnership with Valero Energy to supply fuel at an additional ten sites this year, seven of which will start to be supplied this February.
Valero and Ascona began their relationship in May 2018 when Ascona acquired Parker Drive Service Station, an existing Texaco-branded site. Since then, their relationship has gone from strength to strength with this latest increase bringing the total number of Texaco-branded Ascona sites to 23.
Darren Briggs, managing director at Ascona Group, said: “Since we started our journey to expand our operations, Ascona has relied on strong, flexible and collaborative relationships with our suppliers. Valero is a best-in-class producer and its expertise and assistance has been vital for us as we moved from a single forecourt in 2011 to 50 across the UK today. We look forward to building on this partnership as we continue on our growth story.”
Ascona Group extends Jet relationship Print
Forecourt operator Ascona Group has strengthened its relationship with fuel brand Jet.
Ten more Ascona-owned sites are joining the fuel supply brand’s growing nationwide network of dealer sites. Jet currently supplies Ascona Group at three sites: Fyfield Service Station in Marlborough; Jack Service Station in Stoke-on-Trent, and Deepcar Service Station near Sheffield
New sites joining the Jet network are: Wednesbury Road Service Station, Palfrey, West Midlands; Bedworth Service Station, Bedworth Heath, Warwickshire; Glendale Service Station, Croft Road, Warwickshire; Putnoe Service Station, Putnoe, Bedfordshire; New County Service Station, Clophill, Bedfordshire; Henlow Service Station, Henlow, Bedfordshire; Ash Service Station, Wendover, Buckinghamshire; Desborough Park Service Station, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire; Bassett Service Station, North Weald, Essex; and Thamesmead Service Station, Abbey Wood, Greater London.
Recruiting retailers is a competitive game. And one that generally plays out best in a face-to-face environment.
But coronavirus put an end to all that. No longer could the big symbol and franchise groups rely on trade shows, store visits and face-to-face meetings to tempt new members. Suddenly, operators had to adapt their recruitment plans to an online world.
Replacing the power of annual trade shows, which typically attract thousands of visitors, was no mean feat. Yet nine of the leading 14 fascias managed to hold onto or expand their numbers last year.
The most impressive figures came in from Booker’s Premier and Parfetts Go Local – both of which grew store numbers by 150 – while Londis was also up by more than 100 stores. Meanwhile, Nisa signed up 73 more stores in 2020 than it did the previous year despite the challenges created by the pandemic.
Ascona Group has acquired its 50
th site in the UK.
The forecourt operator, which is supplied by Nisa, completed the purchase of the BP branded Anker Service Station in Nuneaton today (20 January).
The acquisition comes as it also secured backing from Crestline Europe and Nash Business Capital, which will see Ascona Group ramp up its portfolio to more than double in 2021, equating to 120 stations.
“Our 50
th site is a real landmark for us and a testament to the successful formula we have built at Ascona,” said CEO Darren Briggs.
”The forecourt sector has been rapidly evolving in the UK, with customers wanting more from their visits, and our innovative range of retail services, including shopping, coffee, food to go and launderettes, is proving increasingly popular.