Motor Fuel Group has opened a new BP Connect franchise site including a Wild Bean Café.The Crownwoods Connect forecourt in Eltham, South London, was built in 14 weeks at a cost of about £1m - it was previously a closed site owned

 

by BP. The site, which is the first Connect raze and rebuild by a dealer in the UK, has a 190sq m shop, a new forecourt with six Gilbarco Veeder Root pumps, and a Wilcomatic car wash. The business opened its doors in December, although the official opening was on March 26. Company director Sailesh Sejpal - known as Sej - said that the first three months of trading had been buoyant, and he had big plans for the site, which is the group’s eighth Connect/Wild Bean outlet. He said: "We were the first franchisee for BP for Connect and Wild Bean three years ago, and now my aim is to convert some sites to M&S.

"Crownwoods has been designed to be the right size for the standard M&S format, so if we wanted to convert it then the expense would be minimal. I’ve always said that if I could get up to ten Connect/Wild Bean sites I’d be happy.

"The next thing I want is five M&S sites - then I’ll be really happy."

Tony Head, operations and development director at MFG, said: "The early success shows how important the Eltham site clearly is to the residents living around it."

The group, number five in the Forecourt Trader Top Indies 2009 list, has 77 sites, with plans for more. In the next few weeks the company is scheduled to open one in Sittingbourne, Kent, and another in Glasgow.