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Source: Forecourt Trader Awards

The award was collected by husband and wife Jonathan and Zena Tout

Tout’s Cleeve has come out on top as Forecourt Trader of the Year at the Forecourt Trader Awards 2023 last night.

The forecourt site, which also won best site in the south west & Wales with over four million litres per annum in the regional category, was praised for its unique £6m development.

It features a 4,100 sq ft store, Esso forecourt, an 82-capacity restaurant called The Maple, a hair salon, training facility, and head office.

“It’s a destination that contains all the things people want quickly and in-person,” said Forecourt Trader editor Merril Boulton. “It was designed around food art, knowledge and theatre and is bristling with innovation on all fronts. An amazing entry, a stunning development, many congratulations.”

Hosted by celebrity actor and comedian Stephen Mangan at the Park Plaza in Westminster Bridge, the award was collected by Jonathan Tout, whose parents Lesley and Philip Tout won in 2008, and his wife Zena.

The couple said the aim was to create an authentic experience for its customers and teams, with the store described as “mostly a supermarket, fairly like a farm shop, little like a discounter and nothing like a corner shop”.

Tout’s Cleeve was also crowed for three specialist category awards: Best Design & Development, Best Forecourt Innovation and Best Forecourt Loo.

Other notable winners included Rob Exelby, MD of Exelby Services, who received the Special Recognition Award decided by Forecourt Trader readers using an online voting system.

Exelby Services A19 North was winner of Forecourt Trader of the Year in 2021 and has recently completed an extensive sustainability project which will see the site cut its energy usage in half over the course of 2023.

Exelby Services is also partnering with hydrogen refuelling specialist Element 2 to develop two hydrogen refuelling stations.

The Best Oil Company Initiative was won by Gulf with its Oomph + Foresite sales optimisation system, while BP was highly commended for its Voice of the Customer Initiative.

“Times are extremely challenging, and we know that success is hard fought, as everyone navigates the road ahead – particularly at this time, when the road ahead is subject to so many changes,” added Boulton.

“Every year we are always amazed by the exceptional drive, ambition, and creativity of fuel retailers and how each year there is a new star pushing the boundaries.”

See below for a list of all the 2023 Forecourt Trader Award winners:

Forecourt Trader of the Year 2023

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, North Somerset

 

Regional categories

London & South East over 4mlpa

Rontec Billingshurst – Billingshurst, West Sussex

London & South East up to 4mlpa

Budgens Frilford – Frilford, Oxfordshire

Midlands over 4mlpa

MFG Barton Mills Service Station – Barton Mills, Suffolk

Midlands up to 4mlpa

Welcome Break Newark Services – Balderton, Nottinghamshire

Northern England over 4mlpa

Winsford Gateway Service Station – Winsford, Cheshire

Northern England up to 4mlpa

Prospect Service Station – Ossett, West Yorkshire

Northern Ireland over 4mlpa

McCullagh’s Classic Service Station – Omagh, Co. Tyrone

Northern Ireland up to 4mlpa

Maxol Eurospar Kinnegar – Holywood, Co. Down

Scotland

Park Forfar – Longlevens, Forfar

West Country & Wales over 4mlpa

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, North Somerset

West Country & Wales up to 4mlpa

Ascona Green Garage Bush Hill – Pembroke, Pembrokeshire

Best Motorway Service Outlet

Shell Cobham Motorway Services – Cobham, Surrey

 

Specialist Categories

Best Alternative Fuels

MFG Barton Mills Service Station – Barton Mills, Suffolk

 

Best Car Care & Lubricants Outlet

Park Thieves Lane – Shrewsbury, Shropshire

 

Best Coffee & Hot Beverages Outlet

Rontec Magor – Caldicot, Monmouthshire

 

Best Community Engagement

P&G Eurospar – Potadown, Co. Armagh

 

Best Customer Service

Daly’s Service Station – Dungannon, Co. Tyrone

 

Best Design and Development

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, North Somerset

 

Best Food-To-Go Outlet

Spar Mallusk – Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim

 

Best Forecourt Innovation

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, Somerset

 

Best Forecourt Loo

Tout’s Cleeve – Cleeve, Somerset

 

Best Forecourt Team

Doagh Eurospar – Doagh, Co. Antrim

 

Best Site Manager

Danielle Hamilton from Maxol Eurospar Kinnegar, Co. Down

 

Best Soft Drinks Outlet

Lynch’s Eurospar Greysteel – Greysteel, Londonderry

 

Best Sustainability Strategy

Maxol Eurospar Kinnegar – Holywood, Co. Down

 

Best Valeting Facilities

Budgens Frilford – Frilford, Oxfordshire

 

Best Oil Company Initiative

Highly Commended

BP - The Voice of the Customer Initiative

Winner

Gulf - OOMPH + Foresite