Cross-selling: 33% of Europeans open to using fuel retailers for car servicing

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Unmanned fuel stations: Nordic countries lead disparate markets

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BP: still no suitors for German sites

While many companies have window shopped in Germany, few are reaching for their check books to buy BP's 800 sites and 45% stake in the Bayernoil refinery. Finding a buyer is imperative for BP to meet antitrust rulings should the company fail to find an acquisitor, it may have to consider repackaging the assets or, in the worst-case scenario, closing sites.

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BP: PKN buys sites in northern Germany

BP has escaped part of a potential write down on its Veba acquisition. Regulators demanded that the oil major shed 5% of its retail market share and a refinery stake - failure to find buyers would entail costly site closures for BP. PKN will struggle to realize short-term value, but could benefit from a downstream upturn.

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OMV: acquisitions boost regional leader

Austria's OMV is now a leading fuel retailer in Central and Eastern Europe, and the largest international retailer in Hungary and Slovakia. Not only is the company driving up fuel sales per site by acquiring sites with higher throughputs, but its new acquisitions will also enable the expansion of the non-fuel business at its service stations.

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OMV: on track to become top dog

Austrian oil group OMV is leading the charge to become top dog in central and eastern European oil. Acquisitions and organic growth have consolidated its leadership in the strategically important Danube basin. High growth markets with the prospect of EU entry provide fertile ground for OMV's well-disciplined investment policy.

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Shell: partial "au revoir" to French service stations

Intense competition from hypermarkets, which are prepared to sacrifice margins on petrol for business in their stores, has been a key factor in Shell's departure from the French market. Hypermarkets seem favorites to take a lion's share of its sites, given that finding a buyer amongst the oil majors may be a tough task.

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Fuel retail: car washes could boost revenues

In recent years, many fuel retailers have kept investment in their car wash facilities to a minimum, leaving a gap in the market for standalone operators. Nevertheless, new legislation and changing preferences are creating opportunities for fuel retailers to increase revenues from this highly profitable segment.

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Kingfisher: feeling the full force of UK retailing slowdown

Leading home improvement retailer Kingfisher has displayed evidence of the full force of the slowdown in big-ticket spending in the UK as B&Q's profits more than halved during the third quarter. Chief executive Gerry Murphy said he did not expect the home market to improve until late 2006, however this cautious forecast comes from a man who is not afraid of making big decisions...

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UK retail: bargains drying up for private equity

According to the City law firm Eversheds, the appetite amongst private equity investors for involvement in the retail sector remains healthy, despite the general pessimism over retail sales from most quarters. However in the current low growth environment, the fast-return retail bargains of previous years are becoming increasingly few and far between.

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