Green Spirit Fuels is to receive finance from HSBC to build an £85m bioethanol plant at Henstridge in Somerset. The plant, to be run by subsidiary Wessex Biofuels, will produce some 105,000 tonnes of bioethanol and is expected to come into production by Spring 2008.

Tesco 99 Octane is to be the title sponsor of the MSA British Rally Championships for another two seasons. The supermarket’s biofuel blend, developed by independent producer Greenergy Fuels, was adopted as the control fuel for 2006. It is also now available at over 200 Tesco forecourts.

Two Dorset sites have been sold as going concerns by property agents Christie & Co. Spur End Service Station in Bournemouth went from a £1.1m asking price to independent multiple site operator Ed Seaton. Redpost Service Station on the A31 in Winterborne Zelston attracted a guide price of £800,000.