International Women’s Day 2026: In Conversation with Kayalvili Nanthakumar from Tankerford Ltd

Could you tell us about your career path, and how you came to your current role at Tankerford?

My father started this business when I was three years old, which meant that both my sister and I had the privilege of watching it grow from the ground up. For me, this looked like weekend visits to our first site in East Ham and pretending to stock shelves at five years old, then later working weekend shifts during sixth form at Eashing.

After university, I spent a few years working at a fintech wealth management company, where I gained valuable experience outside the family business. However, last year, I made the decision to return and follow in the footsteps of my family.

Working closely with family, contributing to the business that my father built, and the shared dreams to build bigger and broader, are the things that attracted me to working for Tankerford.

What does your role involve?

My role involves managing our property portfolio and, more recently, overseeing new developments. Both are exciting and varied, as I get to work quite closely with many different people - although they definitely come with their share of challenges too!

Property and rental management has definitely become increasingly complex, with the introduction of the new Renters’ Rights Act coming into effect soon. It feels like I’d only just got to grips with landlord legislation before the rules started evolving again. Managing new developments is both incredibly fun and high pressure, and there is a lot of on-the-job learning about complex processes, whether it’s about building a new house or building a petrol forecourt.

Thankfully, from my dad to a lot of others in the industry, everyone is willing to teach, pass on knowledge, and help where they can. One of the biggest challenges we’re experiencing is delays within planning committees which can put pressure on timelines and progress.

We’re celebrating International Women’s Day this week. What has your experience been as a woman in the sector?

As a woman in this sector, I’ll often find myself to be completely outnumbered in almost every room I’m in, whether it’s a room of five or a room of five hundred. This can often feel incredibly daunting, and I often found myself latched to comfort (a family member) or holding back in conversations. This is something I’m actively pushing myself away from, as the industry doesn’t behave that way - people are incredibly welcoming, warm, and excited to have new faces in the room. I am lucky to almost always have my sister(s) with me, and we often say afterwards that the nerves were unnecessary, as this industry is filled with those who want hear what you have to say.

The forecourt sector continues to evolve, and we are seeing petrol retailers having to adapt their offerings in response to changing customer preferences. What trends do you think will shape 2026 for businesses like yours?

Similar to many of our peers in the industry, we’re focusing heavily on expanding jet wash facilities across more of our sites. We’re also working to make our food-to-go offering more varied and exciting across the portfolio.

Looking ahead, what are your hopes and plans for the year ahead?

Similar to most, I hope the world doesn’t end anytime soon! Personally, I’d like to grow in confidence - taking up space and being clearer about what I want. Professionally, I’d like to see the two developments we’re currently working on successfully completed in record time.

Lastly, what advice would you share with women aspiring to build a career in the forecourt sector?

Ask a lot of questions! The answers are there, and everyone’s willing to help.