THE issue of wholesale fuel prices in Orkney is to be taken to the Office of Fair Trading, according to a story in the island's local newspaper Orkney Today. The report said the situation had been

Gordon Brown’s call for forecourts to cut fuel prices at the pumps in line with the fall in the price of crude oil or risk an Office of Fair Trading investigation is too simplistic according to the Forecourt Division of the Federation of Petroleum

Retailer pressure was behind BP's resumption of talks with card giant Arval, according to PRA director Ray Holloway. Having been told in August that BP had decided to discontinue its Arval connection due to escalating costs,

A new association has been formed to represent those working in the car wash industry. The Car Wash Association (CWA) wants to recruit more members to help work for best practice in the

The M&S Simply Food brand could soon be seen on independent BP forecourt sites around the country, if a franchise pilot - to be launched in the new year - proves successful.

Automatic shutdown systems to prevent overfill at fuel storage terminals have been announced by UKPIA and the Tank Storage Association, as part of the ongoing process to improve safety at major fuel storage terminals following the disaster at the Buncefield oil terminal in December 2005.

Five oil companies have so far signed up to exhibit at next year's International Forecourt and Fuel Equipment Show (IFFE), which will take place at the Birmingham NEC from March 1-3, 2009.

Three fraudsters operating an international credit card scam via petrol stations have been jailed. They used a Leicester warehouse to store footage, from covert cameras, of PIN numbers being inputted into pads at garages across the country.

A new Budgens store has opened in Box, Wiltshire on an Esso forecourt on the outskirts of the village.

GNE Group plc has entered into a conditional share purchase to dispose of its main operating subsidiary, Petrol Express, to Leopard No. 2 Investments for £51.66m. For full details log onto http://www.forecourttrader.co.uk

With fuel volumes down, Arval cards under threat, and question marks over tobacco and alcohol, how concerned are you about the health of your business over the next 12 months?

Aside from all the crashing and banging going on in the financial markets around the world, this has been a pretty significant month for UK petrol retailers too. By all accounts they have discovered their power as a collective force. Never before have so many retailers been galvanised into pulling together in one direction to such effect. The ashen faces triggered by BP's stand-off with Arval have now visibly relaxed into relieved - if wary - smiles.

A "huge sigh of relief" is how Petrol Retailers' Assocation director, Ray Holloway, described the reaction around the dealer network to the recent Arval/BP agreement.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: The junction of the A338 (Oxford/Wantage road) and the A415 (Witney/Abingdon road) is off set and somewhat awkward, but constantly busy and an ideal location for a service station. And indeed right on the junction at Frilford is a large Shell service station with Budgens shop.

Every autumn for the past 10 years we have taken a snapshot of actual forecourt pay from our managed payroll service data. We then analyse that data into geographic regions to see just what is being paid to hourly-paid employees in the UK petrol retailing industry. What makes these figures almost unique is that they're not based on what people claim to pay but on what has been put through their 'live' payrolls. This is done for almost 2,500 employees across the UK, during one week in September. Remember though that what we're showing are average rates per employer, so naturally there may be many individual employees within any given site or company who earn more or less than these figures. We restrict the data to hourly-paid employees in order to help prevent distortion by monthly salaries of management or directors.

Get the timing right

"Once someone washes their vehicle in a proper car wash they won't go back to hand washing," insists independent retailer David Charman.

As the successful partnership between Marks and Spencer and BP reached its centenary last month with the opening of the 100th Simply Food concept in a BP Connect store, the oil company announced a potentially exciting development, which could see the M&S brand installed across many dealer forecourts.

Have you checked your epos data recently? According to research company Him, independent retailers only review the data they get from their epos systems an average of 4.5 times a month. The figure comes from its latest Cash and Carry Retailer Tracking Programme, which carries out interviews with retailers while they are shopping in depots.

For consumers, there's no escaping snacks because in this multi-million pound market there's something for everyone. There are snacks for those who are simply hungry, snacks for those wanting a treat, and nowadays there are even snacks for those people who are watching their weight.

In the year to June 2008, UK consumers spent £37bn on gifts - up 10% on the previous 12 months. The figure comes from TNS Worldpanel data, which also reveals that the average spend on a gift is just under £29. Finding a gift of that value in a forecourt shop would be hard (unless you buy someone half a tank of petrol) however they do sell gift-worthy items such as flowers, chocolates and wine.

WashTec used this year's Automechanika trade show in Frankfurt to showcase its latest car wash technology.

Zurich has published a tax guide for small business owners. Its 2008/9 Tax Handbook includes advice on how to finance a business effectively as well as guidance on Capital Gains tax, deducting tax at source and an outline of VAT.

CTEK has released a new counter-ready display unit for its smart chargers.

The British Safety Council has launched a one-day course designed to provide a good understanding of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the impact of the Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007.

Coca-Cola Enterprises is to be an official partner of the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

Hovis has introduced a new 122 second advert celebrating its 122 years in business.

Car care company Tetrosyl has launched its new-look CarPlan Demon Shine product.

Kraft Foods is relaunching Dairylea in a bid to remind mums about the "goodness and magic" of the brand.

Heinz has launched a pre-packed sandwich range featuring its classic range of sauces such as Tomato Ketchup and Ploughman's Pickle.

Cadbury UK is bringing its Creme Egg Twisted ads back to TV this month as well as running a national sampling campaign targeting Haloween sales.

Goodfella's has added new flavours to its existing ranges as part of a major re-brand.

Unilever is launching an on-pack promotion for Pot Noodle to give away a thousand spinning forks.

To claim your Giveaway, simply write your name, address and telephone number on a postcard or sealed envelope stating what you want - Kit Kat, Big French Fancy, Lyle's Golden Syrup ice cream or Bryant & May - and we'll do the rest, including delivery. Send it to us at Forecourt Trader, William Reed Business Media, Broadfield Park, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 9RT, by October 31.

Nestlé says retailers looking to increase confectionery sales should ensure they stock top-performing brands consumers know and love - like Kit Kat.

Premier Foods' leading cake brand Mr Kipling has recently launched a larger version of its French Fancies - The Big French Fancy. Available in either pink or yellow, the company says the cakes are a perfect addition to any family birthday party or girls' night in.

Fredericks Dairies, which says it is the UK's largest independent ice cream manufacturer, is bringing another of Britain's favourite flavours to the freezer with the launch of Lyle's Golden Syrup ice cream.

It's almost bonfire night and to celebrate, readers of Forecourt Trader are being offered a package of Bryant & May Extra Long Matches and Cricket Firepower.

Looking back over past issues of Forecourt Trader I was amazed to see that it was exactly a year ago that I was writing about the fiasco at Northern Rock. Although we knew that the underlying cause of its collapse was rooted in America, the whole crazy goings on, and the sight of people queuing round the block to withdraw their funds, seemed to make the collapse of the Rock a very peculiarly British affair.