India’s Essar Group doubles UK fuel forecourt network with SGN Retail takeover deal

Deal accelerates Stanlow owner’s ambition to supply 800 UK forecourts by 2031

India’s Essar Group has struck a deal to acquire UK fuel station operator SGN Retail, creating a forecourt chain of 235 sites.

Essar’s fuel retail division – EET Retail – confirmed the acquisition will double its current network of 118 sites, bringing it closer to its ambitious long-term target of operating 800 forecourts by 2031, which would be approximately 9% of the UK market.

The group intends to supply its expanding network of sites directly from its own refinery at Stanlow in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

Arvan Ruia, chief executive of EET Retail, said: “SGN Retail is one of the highest-quality forecourt networks in the UK, well ahead of the market.

“This acquisition accelerates our plan to build a nationwide, vertically integrated platform of 800 sites, backed by direct refinery supply and delivering competitive prices at the pump for UK motorists.”

While Essar declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal, SGN Retail is believed to be worth around £400 million.

SGN Retail, which operates 118 sites, is amongst Britain’s largest independent petrol station chains and was established by Graham Peacock and Susan Tobbell in 2016.

Essar has made clear its intention to disrupt the UK fuel retail market, arguing it has become increasingly fragmented between fuel retail and production, as oil majors have scaled back domestic refinery investment, “leading to a complex and inefficient supply chain, often dependent on imports or complex domestic supply chain”.

“EET Retail aims to challenge this dynamic in order to support an efficient and robust supply to UK customers,” the company said.

“Rerouting fuel refined at Stanlow directly into EET Retail forecourts boosts domestic supply security, by allowing UK refined fuel to be more efficiently distributed to domestic UK consumers.

“Furthermore, the integration of fuel production and sale will allow EET Retail to eliminate cost inefficiencies for motorists at the pump.”

The firm has set its sights on further expanding its foothold in the UK forecourt sector, noting that “the combination of demographic growth, the rise of multi-car households and the declining number of forecourts in the UK create an attractive outlook to invest”.