UK and Ireland petrol forecourt retailer Applegreen has bought seven sites from Carsley Group for £21m.

The new acquisitions cover six UK service areas on the A1(M) and one other petrol filling station.

Bob Etchingham, chief executive, of Applegreen, said the deal would accelerate the company’s strategy to establish a major service area presence in the UK to complement its strong position in Ireland and growing footprint in the US.

“The assets being acquired provide a set of large and strategically important sites that can accelerate Applegreen’s growth in this key marketplace.”

The acquisition demonstrated Applegreen’s commitment to enhancing its existing estate in the UK and leveraging its expertise in operating “high quality service areas offerings with a strong food-to-go focus for the benefit of our customers”, Etchingham said.

Applegreen has food partnerships with Freshii, Burger King, Subway, Greggs, Costa Coffee, Chopstix, Lavazza and 7-Eleven as well as its own food offer.

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