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Petrol station market remains ripe for investment, Christie & Co's Business Outlook 2025 report reveals

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has today launched its annual Business Outlook report, 'Business Outlook 2025', which reflects on key market activity, trends and challenges of 2024 and forecasts what 2025 might bring across the industries in which Christie & Co operates, including the forecourt sector.

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Steve Rodell

Steve Rodell

Managing Director – Retail & Leisure

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The report reveals that in 2024, deal activity in the petrol filling station (PFS) market continued in the same strong vein as H2 2023, with the market remaining robust and driven by acquisitive buyers at all levels. As such, Christie & Co's retail price index rose by 7.3 per cent.

Demand for PFS businesses remained strong with buyers continually outnumbering sellers, and according to Christie & Co data, by Q3 2024 it had sold more sites than in all of 2023. In 2024, there was a 47 per cent increase in the number of exchanges and new instructions increased by 118 per cent.

Christie & Co highlight in the report some notable market activity including MFG's acquisition of 337 Morrisons forecourts for £2.5 billion, EG on the Move's purchase of 34 ASDA sites for £228 million and their most recent acquisition of nearly 100 Applegreen sites, which was announced in early January. The report also notes that top forecourt operators have become more selective about what they are prepared to buy or develop and that in 2025, sites will only attract top pricing if they are large enough to accommodate future development or redevelopment of income-driving aspects.

The report also outlines Christie & Co's market predictions for the year ahead, which are:

  • Higher staffing costs announced in the Chancellor’s Budget will reduce the profitability of some forecourts. Operators may have to increase their prices to compensate, so there may be some inflationary pressure
  • Fuel duty was held in the Autumn Budget but preparations for the introduction of Pump Watch at the end of this year may cause administrative headaches. Tax incentives continue for pure electric vehicles (EVs), with the percentage rate increasing gradually by 2% each year up to a cap of 9 per cent in 2029-30. Whilst reported new EV sales are up as a proportion of the entire new fleet; overall sales were down 6 per cent in November 2024. How many EVs are reaching the road is questionable with numbers varying across all sources. In any event, no immediate effect on fuel demand is expected in 2025
  • Owners thinking of selling are likely to market their business sooner to avoid future rises in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) or Inheritance tax (IT) which will come into effect in April 2025 and beyond
  • Strong demand for forecourts is expected to continue; however, buyers may account for increased costs when making offers
  • As costs rise, continued divestment from corporate multiple retailers is expected in 2025

Steve Rodell, Managing Director of Retail and Leisure at Christie & Co comments, “Clearly, we keep a very close eye on trends in new vehicle sales as EVs become more popular. It is our view that petrol and diesel-fuelled vehicles will be around for many years to come. However, retailers must think long-term about investing in their sites. That said, we remain extremely busy and continue to experience multiple offers for correctly priced petrol stations across the UK. It will be intriguing to see how further consolidation might play out after Zuber’s recent announcement about the acquisition of Applegreen, which has a significant leasehold element.”

Click here to read the full report: https://www.christie.com/news-resources/business-outlook-2025/retail/


For further information on this press release, contact:

Niamh Toman, Corporate Communications Executive
P: +44 7768 646 984 or E: Niamh.toman@christie.com

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