Maxol in ‘advanced’ talks to acquire more land and sites

Maxol is in “advanced talks” to buy more land and stores across the country as it looks to expand its offering and attach more electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities to its petrol stations, its chief executive has said.

The McMullan family-owned forecourt retail, which is attempting to gradually shift its core focus from fuel to convenience food as motorists move away from fossil fuels, opened its first EV charging station at Kinnegar in Co Down last December.

Speaking at Maxol’s national retail conference at the K Club in Co Kildare, group chief executive Brian Donaldson confirmed that proposals for charging stations at Braid River in Ballymena, Co Antrim, Maxol Newbridge in Co Kildare and Maxol Ballycoolin in Co Dublin are planned this year.

At a press conference marking for the release of Maxol’s 2021 annual results last November, Mr Donaldson told reporters the retailer was lobbying for changes to retail planning permission rules to allow it to expand its forecourts, offering more food and convenience options to its customers.

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Last week, he told the 265 Maxol retailers who attended the retail conference that the group plans to grow the company through the acquisition of existing stores and adjoining land parcels across the country. Mr Donaldson said negotiations for Maxol to acquire a number of sites and stores were at an advanced stage.

“We are particularly interested in businesses that already have a strong convenience and food offering, as this is the direction in which our business model has been moving for a number of years,” said Mr Donaldson. “Our five-year plan is to continue to evolve our business mix, further reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and increasing our non-fuel revenues.”

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Maxol currently operates 241 service stations on both sides of the Border, 112 of which are directly owned by the company. The group has acquired 25 sites over the past decade and completed 70 developments over the past decade.

Group profits jumped by almost 60 per cent in 2021 to €26.9 million, some €10 million higher than pre-pandemic 2019, as demand for fuel and forecourt services recovered following a steep, pandemic-induced decline in 2020.

Maxol recently inked a €340 million contract with BWG Foods will see the Spar owner continuing to supply the forecourt retailer’s food, alcohol and private-label goods ranges over the next four years and, additionally, supply its baked and deli goods to the retailer.