A forecourt scooped the top prize at the Londis Store of the Year awards. Blair Girvan’s c-store in Aberfeldy, Perthshire won the ’best forecourt store’ category then went on to take the awards’ top accolade. Blair, who has run the shop in Dunkeld Street for five years, received his award at a prestigious ceremony at the Harrogate International Centre.

He fought off competition from 2,000 other entrants and went through a rigorous judging process which included mystery shopper visits.

Competition judge Mike Greene of research company, Him, said: "Blair and his team offer fantastic service, which customers told us about when we visited the store. Not only does he have a great range with locally-sourced specialities but he sponsors the local football team, golf club and Christmas lights. Blair has a real in-depth understanding of his catchment and customers’ needs. It’s a well-deserved win."

Said Blair: "We’ve worked very hard to get this far. Our staff are great and they’ve all risen to the occasion. We really try to offer a wide range of goods and go that extra mile to give our customers a fantastic service."

The awards were held as part of Musgrave Retail Partners’ annual conference, where the group committed £1m to improving its promotional programme. It also announced a joint initiative with key suppliers to offer free merchandising support to ensure that retailers have the right range in the right place at the right price. New own label premium chocolates and New World wines were also unveiled.