FORECOURT retailers were updated on the work of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), and heard from representatives from fuel and energy companies, at the Scottish Forecourt & Fuel Show, held at the Macdonald Inchyra Grange Hotel in Falkirk.
PRA chairman Brian Madderson spoke about the reduction in fuel volumes and the impact that supermarkets have had on independent forecourts. He said there were 200 potential hypermarket developments in the pipeline, and that each one could suck out of the market the entire volume of five independent filling stations.
He also said the number of dealer-owned sites was down 30%, and that the company-owned forecourt network was shrinking. With fewer filling stations and independents reduced to minimum stock levels, he argued the UK’s energy resilience for road fuels has never been so low.
Bruce Woodall of Oil Tank Supplies, spoke about safe storage and tank security, and Phil Monger of the PRA spoke about potential changes in legislation and the impact they will have on forecourt retailers.
Richard Whiting of Vianet Fuel Solutions talked about driving higher profits by looking after pump performance, and Allen Shepherd of Christie + Co presented on the buying and selling of forecourt sites and the efforts of symbol groups to get involved in forecourt retailing.
