The United Kingdom is home to 8,353 operational petrol stations and those under development. Numbers have fallen by over 36 percent since 2000. 2013 is the only year recorded here which shows a year-on-year increase. As of 2022, the UK was among the leading ten European countries by number of petrol stations, while Italy ranks first with over 20,000 service stations.
Ownership by brand
British multinational oil and gas firm Shell operates the second greatest number of forecourts. BP, ESSO, and Shell are the only companies to operate more than 1,000 sites. Of the so-called hypermarket-owned petrol stations, Tesco offers the most stations, at 512 as of December 2023. Despite owning fewer petrol stations, hypermarket retailers sold a greater volume of fuel, accounting for approximately 58.7 percent of fuel sold in the UK as of 2023.
Petrol prices
Between 2016 and 2020, prices for premium unleaded petrol increased by some 18 percent. During this period, prices ranged from a low of 101.4 pence per liter in February 2016, to a high of 130.9 pence per liter in October 2018. Fuel prices are largely impacted by the price of crude oil and, in fact, saw a decline in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Number of open petrol station sites in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2023
Open sites includes all currently operating petrol stations and those sites that are under development at time of publishing. NET figures (closures, less new sites and less re-opened closed/obsolete sites).
The source notes: 'These include ownership changes eg. in the 2010 figures and in prior years, there were about 30 Co-op sites that were own branded fuel Co-op Somerfield and hence these were all classified by us as "hypermarkets". Since then all these sites have become main oil company branded hence they are now classified as dealer eg. And in 2013 Rontec "company" sites under the Total brand change to Esso "dealers".'
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Petrol Retailers Association. (March 1, 2024). Number of open petrol station sites in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2023 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/312331/number-of-petrol-stations-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
Petrol Retailers Association. "Number of open petrol station sites in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2023." Chart. March 1, 2024. Statista. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/312331/number-of-petrol-stations-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
Petrol Retailers Association. (2024). Number of open petrol station sites in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2023. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 10, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/312331/number-of-petrol-stations-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
Petrol Retailers Association. "Number of Open Petrol Station Sites in The United Kingdom (Uk) from 2000 to 2023." Statista, Statista Inc., 1 Mar 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/312331/number-of-petrol-stations-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
Petrol Retailers Association, Number of open petrol station sites in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2023 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/312331/number-of-petrol-stations-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/ (last visited November 10, 2024)
Number of open petrol station sites in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2023 [Graph], Petrol Retailers Association, March 1, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/312331/number-of-petrol-stations-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
