The Park Welsh Harp site is located in a busy part of London near the M1 motorway and North Circular road system, whilst Park Harborne is well located near the main routes into Birmingham and near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Both sites offer a forecourt shop, jet wash, Air Water Tower (tyre pressure gauge and water dispenser in one) and stock all grades of fuel including Supreme Diesel.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said," Our relationship with Park Garage Group goes back a long way and we are thrilled that Valero remain the fuel supplier of choice for the majority of their sites. Our emphasis on communications and account management has always been paramount and we have built an excellent working relationship with PGG over the years. I am absolutely delighted to have two new Park sites join us and with superb retailers Hemant, Sunil and Balraj at the helm, I'm sure we'll see success for years to come."
EUROSPAR Kilkeel Greencastle in Newry, County Down and SPAR Musgrave in Belfast have switched to the Texaco brand, bringing the total number of Henderson sites under the brand to four. EUROSPAR Saintfield Road moved to Texaco in 2014 and SPAR Seagoe in Portadown joined at the end of last year.
Henderson Retail is one of Northern Ireland's largest independent fuel site operators. EUROSPAR Kilkeel Greencastle switched this month, while SPAR Musgrave will be joining in October.
Ron Whitten chief financial officer, Henderson Group, said, “Our strong relationship with Valero has grown over the years and we thought that the time was right to strengthen our network of Texaco branded sites. We were impressed with the fuel package on offer as it suited the needs of the company."
EUROSPAR Kilkeel Greencastle is situated in a busy fishing town with strong farming links and sees circa 12,000 customers visit in a normal week. Due to a number of caravan parks close by, the site can see up to an increase of 30 percent in sales and footfall during the summer months. In 2015, the store was refurbished from a small convenience store to a 5,180 square foot EUROSPAR, doubling in size and giving the local community a one-stop shop that includes a Post Office, deli, butchers, Subway and goods from local artisan suppliers. The staff are also very passionate about raising money for local charities and since 2015 have raised over £75,000.
SPAR Musgrave serves a neighboring hospital and has direct links to the main route in and out of Belfast. It sees a much wider catchment of customers but the team are still well known for going the extra mile to deliver a great service.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said, "We are incredibly proud that Henderson Retail have chosen to switch another two of their sites to the Texaco brand. They're a significant player in the Northern Ireland market and we're delighted that our relationship with them continues to grow, and they know Valero can be relied upon to support their business with security of supply, quality fuels and an industry-leading delivery service."
Henderson Retail owns and operates over 95 SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Northern Ireland. Henderson Retail forms part of the Henderson Group, which began its operations in the retail grocery business back in 1897 selling butter, cheese and eggs at premises on the Old Lodge Road in Belfast.
After six years of annual fundraising, the ambitious goal of raising £1m for children's charities looked well within reach this year. The UK Benefit for Children Classic (BFC) proposed the target some time ago and year-on-year, the total bounced up so that last year, the final figure stood at £832,000, within striking distance of the £1m target.
However, as the implications of the lockdown became clearer, the company made the difficult decision, first to postpone the event, then as the pandemic developed, to cancel this year's fundraising event.
Matt Dooley, Vice President UK Operations, said, “We were all understandably upset that it could not go ahead, as we knew it would impact the charities we support at a time of extraordinary need."
Valero contacted its sponsors to tell them that the event was cancelled and asked if they would consider donating some or all of their sponsorship money to the charities, considering the circumstances. The charities were under sudden intense pressures with a sharp increased need for their services, combined with a halt in their fundraising activities.
The result from the sponsors was amazing. “The support that our sponsors have pledged in response has been overwhelmingly positive, with a total of £169,575 donated to the charities. We are extremely grateful for their generosity and commitment to those less fortunate at such a difficult time," Dooley added.
Thanks to their donations, the ambitious goal set at the first BFC in 2014 has now been met and just over £1 million has now been raised for children's charities.
Many of the charities regularly supported by the BFC were relying on the funds as part of their 2020 budget. As such, they were grateful to receive the funding, even though the event did not take place.
Lizzi Hollis, Head of Corporate Partnerships and Engagement at Richard House, said, “It's so generous of the sponsors to continue to offer their support, even though the event isn't going ahead – please pass on our hugest thanks from everyone at Richard House to the sponsors for their kindness at this time. And of course, a massive thank you to you and the BFC team there at Valero for working so hard to ensure you are still able to give support to your charities, despite the event's cancellation."
Ceri Crichton, Charity Development Lead at Sandy Bear said, “We wanted to say a personal thank you to all of the sponsors of the Valero Benefit for Children event from Sandy Bear Children's Bereavement Charity.
“With your amazing kindness, we can provide support to all Pembrokeshire children who have lost a loved one."
Texaco UKFamily business, Gardner Garages Limited, have recently opened another Texaco site, City Service Station in Hereford. This will bring the current number of Gardner Garages sites under the Texaco brand to four with their first site Gardner General Garage in Huntley joining over 20 years ago. The three existing sites, Gardner Cheltenham Service Station, Gardner Westgate Services and Gardner General Garage have recently signed long term renewals with the Texaco brand as well.
Gardner Garages have a strong relationship with Valero and were keen to offer their customers a brand they knew and could trust to deliver a service their customers have come to expect from them.
Clive Gardner, Chairman of Gardner Garages said, “The ability to have open dialogue and excellent communication with decision makers within the Valero organisation has proven invaluable over the years as has the reliability of their fuel ordering and delivery service. It's reassuring to know the level of support and service we will receive on signing up another site to the Texaco brand."
City Service Station, which was previously Harvest branded, offers a Londis convenience store, Costa coffee and stocks three grades of fuel including Supreme unleaded, however Clive who thrives on transforming sites around has bigger plans for the future of this site. His medium to long term goal is to completely knock the site down and create a future proof forecourt with all grades of fuel and better community focused facilities like a small café with a Wi-Fi area. He has a strong vision of how he wants the business to take shape and is looking forward to developing the site.
The business is also committed to helping out in the community, and for many years has undertaken fundraising activities to support the Pied Piper Appeal, a local charity that helps makes a difference to the lives of sick and disabled children in Gloucestershire. During the current the business has also donated £2500 to help a local primary school and cat rescue centre after seeking nominations from the local community.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said, “Our relationship with Gardner Garages goes back many years and we're delighted to have teamed up with Clive again as their fuel supplier for their latest location. I've no doubt the site will be successful and Clive's plans for the future will be well supported under the Texaco brand."
Gardner Garages is a family business and is run by Clive Gardner (Chairman), his daughter Emma Gardner (MD) and son Ashton Gardner (Operations Director). Clive grew up exposed to the business world at a very early age as his father ran a portfolio of businesses including two petrol forecourts, hairdressers, cafes, guest houses and ice-cream vans to name but a few. He started off working in his father's petrol retailing business before moving on to become a BP licensee in the 1980's. He acquired his first Texaco site in 1996 and over the years has gone through some acquisitions, sales and even a 'mini retirement' in Spain. The portfolio now comprises of a site with BP and four sites with Valero with purchase of another petrol station in Gloucestershire nearly complete. Planning has recently been approved for the development of two substantial stand-alone convenience stores in Cheltenham as well.
Texaco Star Rewards loyalty customers have helped to donate over £60,000 to front line charities facing .
As the UK went into lockdown earlier in the year, charities across the UK began facing an unprecedented challenge to support those in need. As a company that is committed to supporting the communities in which it works, Valero Energy Ltd, who market fuel in the UK under the Texaco brand, announced they would be supporting a number of charities in the wake of the pandemic.
Valero provided financial assistance, along with free Texaco fuel, to FareShare, Age UK, The Trussell Trust and a charity close to Valero's head office in Canary Wharf, the East End Emergency Fund.
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