Euro Garages snaps up four Merseyside sites

The petrol station retailer has acquired the sites in off-market deals, all for undisclosed sums, as part of its expansion strategy.

The sites are in Aintree, Maghull, Huyton and Knowsley, and all are at various stages of development with planning permission already granted. Euro Garages aims to use the gateway locations to expand its mini service station offer, which aims to provide petrol filling stations, convenience retail, hot food, and drinks in key transport hubs.

The first deal saw Euro Garages acquire two acres at Mersey Reach on Dunningsbridge Road, the main approach to Liverpool Docks. Construction is due to start on site later this year for a convenience store and drive-through Starbucks coffee shop.

The second deal saw the company purchase a five-acre site at Maghull on Junction One of the M58, where new slip roads providing east-west access to the motorway are nearing completion under a separate project.

At the Maghull site, Euro Garages has been granted planning permission for a petrol station and three drive-through restaurants. In total, the scheme comprises a 5,100 sq ft petrol station, two drive-through eateries of 2,500 sq ft each, and a drive-through coffee shop occupying 2,204 sq ft.

The company also acquired a 2.5-acre site at Beacon 62 in Huyton, close to Junction 7 of the M62. Euro Garages has planning consent to build a new mini service station adjacent to a proposed Aldi store, although the size of the scheme has not been confirmed.

The final site the company acquired is a 2.5-acre plot at the Titan warehousing park. The site fronts the A580 East Lancashire Road at the entrance to Knowsley Industrial Estate, and planning permission has been granted for a scheme similar to what is proposed for the Maghull site.

Aherne Property Consultants acted as the sales agent on the four deals but declined to reveal the names of the vendors.

Founder Andrew Aherne said: “While larger scale strategic investments and more speculative or leveraged deals have stalled due to the current challenging working conditions and economic uncertainty, those with a sound operational basis with equity funding are progressing.

“We are seeing occupiers still commit to deals where landlords/landowners are prepared to help them through the uncertainties of the next six months or so. The North West property market has always proved itself relatively resilient and where investors see value and comfortable margins, they will commit.”

David Myers, property director at Euro Garages, added: “These sites are situated on all the main arteries serving the Liverpool connurbation and complement our existing operations on Merseyside.

“We will push ahead with the delivery of these service stations as soon as possible as we see these offering an important amenity to the locations each serves whether for passing traffic, local businesses or residents.”