|
Pages:
Home
|
The Largest UK operator with 47 sites. Owned
since mid 2006 by a consortium led by Australian investment
bank Macquarrie
Started life as new interest for Granada- the Cinema/Bingo &
ITV company company and slowly built new sites and aquired other
smaller chains. Granada merged with Compass in 2000, then demerged,
but the hospitality parts of Granadas business went to Compass Group, So the sites rebranded as MOTO.
Travelodge and Little
Chef brands also became part of Compass
PLC.
Has purchased many sites and other chains, and been instructed by
the government to "shrink" several times!
Won "Tommys Parent Friendly Awards" 2004.
In 2003 built upon its existing deal with Marks & Spencer to
provide food to Compass run railway stations by putting Marks And
Spencer Food outlets into several Moto sites.
In Dec 2002, Compass sold Little Chef (all 328 of them) and Travelodge
to Permira of Canada for £712m.
September 2005: Compass starts to struggle and wants to sell off
Moto
10 April 2006: Compass sells off Moto to consortium lead by Macquarrie
for £1,.882 million
Web site: www.moto-way.com
& www.compass-group.co.uk
|
Initally part of the Hanson Group (through Imperial
Group PLC), (who incidentally owned the Happy Eater range of restaurants).
Welcome break was purchased by Trusthouse Forte in 1986. Existing
Forte/ THF MSA's were then re-branded as Welcome Break
With 27 UK sites, Welcome Break have recently spent a huge amount
of money upgrade their sites. They also have meeting rooms at various
services.
Fortes (the Hotel Chain) Diversified into the "new" business
of running a MSA, branded as Forte (Later Trusthouse Forte) opening
the countries second MSA. Taken over by Granada in 1995 for 3.9 Billion
pounds. Monopolies and Mergers commission didn't like the size of
the resulting company, so most Welcome break sites sold in Feb 97
to Investcorp of Bahrain.
Financial problems in the Finance company (not MSA) in 2004 meant
that welcome break had to raise money, which it did by selling
9 service areas to the Rotch Group on
a Sale and Leaseback arrangement (more)
raising £240M
As off Summer 2006, seems to be experimenting with a new look at Fleet which
was rolled out to all sites.
In March 2008, it was sold for £500 million to Appia Investments. The Chief
executive kepts his role.
Web site: www.welcomebreak.co.uk |
Operates 21 sites, including the newest in the
UK on the M6 Toll. Acquired several sites and upgraded many others
sites almost continuously since late 90's.
Started by Linley Catering in 1972, Sold to a management Buyout in
1983 Acquired by Nikko Europe Plc in 1998 for £240 million.
Nikko sold RoadChef to Israel property firm Delek for £375 Million in 2007
Web Site: www.roadchef.com |
| Own two all purpose sites, and a truck stop,
along with other local businesses. Dedicated to local products and
local style, a very unique stop. Westmorland was founded by the
Dunning family (who owned the land the motorway was built through)
and also by 2 directors of Penrith based bakers Birketts who had
shops all over Cumbria, North Lancs and southern Scotland. Certain
head office functions for Westmoorland were done at Birketts HQ
eg- Accounts, Payroll but after the sale of Birketts to Greggs PLC
all head office matters were moved to to a newly built office block
behind the forecourt building at Tebay West.
This office block is known as Westmoorland Place- although some
such as Marketing are now handled at Rheged
Built the Rheged Discovery Centre
or Rheged Village in The Hill was opened off the A66 near Penrith.
This is the largest grass covered building in the UK and comprises
a 260 seater cinema, restaurants, bar, local specialty shops, tourist
information center, children's play area, The National Mountaineering
Exhibition and Texaco petrol station.
Web site: www.westmorland.com
|
| Has 2 sites, Bolton West on the M61, and Magor
on the M4, which were purchased from Granada in 1996 for 8.6 million
pounds, after Granada purchased Pavilion. |
| Owns 1 site - Happendon on the M74. See the story
on the Happendon Page |
| Run a large truckstop at J20 on the M6 |
Currently, more than half the roadside services market is owned by overseas
investors
Granada entered the Motorway Business in 1965,
seeing it as a possible extension to their leisure and hospitality
interests, which included the ITV Contract for North West, TV production
including Coronation Street, Cinemas, Bingo Halls, etc. Merged with
Compass in 2000, changed name of motorway services to MOTO on 29th
August 2000. Compass then demerged from Granada, but took Granada's
Hospitality business with it, including the Motorway services Business.
Granada now concentrates on Media
Web site: www.granada.co.uk |
Fortes became involved early in MSA history,
and already had a track record- they created the Little Chef brand,
opening the first Little Chef in Reading in 1959. Naturally they
moved into the MSA business. They also purchased many hotels in
the 1960's onwards, becoming a dominant owner in the UK.
Fortes merged with Trust House group in 1970. The Trust House group
started in Hertfordshire in 1903 to revive the standards of old
coaching Inns. So the history of road side service goes back a long
way!
They bought Welcome Break From Hanson Trust in 1987 and was investigated
by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, who cleared the Merger.
Eventually renamed the whole chain as Welcome Break. Acquired by
Granada in 1995. This would put made Granada subject to inquiry
by the Monopolies and mergers committee, so they agreed to divest
21 of the Welcome Break sites, which they sold for £476 million
in 1997 to InvestCorp - who continue to use the name Welcome Break.
Orginainated as the hotel chain "Forte", which merged
with Trust Houses to become "Trust Houses Forte". They
then breifly rebranded the MSAs as Motorchef, but then later rebranded
them back, when the parent company abreviated its own name to "Trusthouse
Forte"
|
| A Car dealership that had been running since 1878
and still going today (under the name GK Ford) They also hired vehicles
and ran over 100 petrol forecourts so moving into the MSA business
seemed natural. They built Strensham and
Anderton MSA's (Strensham for many years was one of the most profitable
MSA's on the network) (more) |
| Main business was Fresh Fish, and Frozen Foods
and sold fish at "Captains Table" at its services. Sold
interests to Welcome Break to concentrate on Frozen Foods. |
| Entered the market in 1970, and built 5 new sites
between 1970 and 1972. However government restrictions were too prohibitive
for to make the sites pay. Sold all 5 sites to Granada in 1973 |
Taken over by Roadchef in 1998. Ran the first Motorways
services on the M1 which they were offered in compensation for loss
to their existing business, which was a chain of stops on the A5
A single Blue Boar services remained on the A74(M) but is now a RoadChef |
Started by a Motor dealer (TKM). Only ever ran
one site: Strensham on the M5- but one of the more profitable sites
on the motorway network.
Inchcape purchased TKM in 1992, then in 1994, a management buyout
purchased the site from Inchcape and renamed the brand to "take-a-break"
Taken over by Roadchef in 1998. |
Formed in Dec 1993 from a £89m management
buy out of certain Rank Service stations
Sold in April 1995 to Granada, who were getting to big by this time,
so condition of the sale was they had to sell off some sites. |
| |
Thanks:
Additional Information contributed by :
Carl Ryding
"Jam Sandwich"
Richard Lord
Saronie
Andrew Leatham
|
