Maxol, Northern Ireland’s leading family-owned forecourt and convenience retailer, is investing £3.5 million to redevelop and expand Maxol Fortwilliam Service Station in Belfast and Maxol Hilden in Lisburn.
The investment is part of a wider five-year capital investment programme for its network worth £84M that Maxol announced last year to meet the growing demand for convenience-led forecourt services, that include the latest offers across groceries, coffee and food-to-go.
Sustainable developments
A host of technologies will be used across both sites to reduce their existing carbon footprint and include photovoltaic (solar) panels to reduce electrical import requirements; the use of LED lights; low energy CO2 refrigeration systems with doors fitted throughout each store; and exhaust air-heat pump technology to reduce heating loads on each site. Hilden Service Station will also have solar-efficient glazing installed.
Maxol Fortwilliam Belfast
Maxol is investing £1.9M to significantly re-develop Maxol Fortwilliam and fully utilise the existing footprint of the site to include a new and larger store that will almost double the retail space from 107 square meters to 195 square meters.
The number of grocery and chilled bays will increase significantly, and customers can expect to find a much larger range of locally produced fruit & veg and dairy produce as well as a doubling of frozen food provision.
The development will see Maxol bring the latest food-to-go concepts to customers with a new Delish Deli and self-serve chicken bar and the popular BARISTA BAR, for quality coffee on the go, will be expanded to two units for improved speed of service. New Electronic Shelf Edge labels (ESL) will ensure accurate pricing for customers at all times and Automatic Stock Replenishment (ASR) will help create efficiencies and ensure customer favourites are always available.
A new reconfigured forecourt will be more spacious and provide customers with wider access to the store. Maxol will continue to service its large customer base with advanced fuels under a new canopy and car parking will increase from nine to twenty-one spaces including two accessible parking bays for greater customer comfort and convenience. New customer facilities will also include a new indoor restroom.
Maxol Fortwilliam is closed for the duration of the development and work is expected to be completed in November. Mark Nelson, Maxol’s independent licensee will return to operate the business.
An alternative Maxol site that can be used while the work is ongoing is at Maxol Antrim Road.
Maxol Service Station Hilden
The £1.6M investment at Maxol Hilden Service Station on the Belfast Road in Lisburn will take place in two phases to enhance and upgrade current customer facilities both on the forecourt and in-store.
In phase one, the shop and forecourt will close for approximately ten weeks while the retail store is newly fitted to the latest SPAR concept complete with new shopfront, flooring, open ceiling and lighting.
While the store’s retail footprint will remain the same, the newly fitted store will offer more fresh and locally produced food to meet growing customer demand in the local area. There will also be a more comprehensive offer for customers who want to grab & go including BARISTA BAR bean to cup coffee, a self-serve Chicken Bar and a large range of freshly prepared sandwiches and wraps.
The reconfigured forecourt will be more spacious with two pump islands servicing fuel customers with the full range of advanced fuels and a new canopy will be installed.
In phase two of the work, old stores to the rear of the site will be demolished to make way for the re-located and newly equipped car wash and space will be made for more car parking
facilities as spaces increase from seven to twenty-two spaces including two accessible parking bays. Aramark, Maxol’s licensee lead by Nicola Farrell will return to operate the business.
Brian Donaldson, Chief Executive Officer of The Maxol Group said: “I am delighted to see the extensive work underway at both Maxol Fortwilliam and Maxol Hilden Service Stations as we continue to deliver on our commitment to invest across our network to provide our customers with the best in convenience and food-to-go concepts. Once these developments are complete, our customers will be able to shop locally for all their daily needs in a modern and more sustainable environment, with excellence in customer care, led by our experienced Licensees at these sites.
“I’d like to thank our customers for their patience while the work is ongoing and look forward to each project’s completion in the coming months.”