Greggs moves onto petrol forecourts

Greggs revealed its move onto the petrol forecourt as it continues to target locations away from the high street

Bakery chain Greggs revealed its first move onto the petrol forecourt as it continues to target locations away from the high street.

The deal with Euro Garages, which has 76 forecourts across the UK, has seen the first Greggs store open at the firm's newly developed site in Bury, Lancashire, with others set to follow.

The opening follows Greggs' recent expansion into industrial estates and retail parks in a drive to take the brand to where customers are.

Euro Garages, which was formed eight years ago by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa with a single petrol station, is the UK's fastest growing forecourt operator and the second largest independent in the sector. It sells about 300 million litres of fuel each year and has a turnover of £260 million.

It has grown by acquiring and redeveloping run-down petrol stations, partnering with brands such as Spar to offer convenience retail stores and Subway to provide franchised fast food outlets on the same sites.

Mike Kavanagh, retail development manager at Greggs, said there was room for significant growth in the petrol forecourt retail sector.

He added: "If this move is as successful as we anticipate, we plan to extend the model to other regions."